


Lonely Kunoichi

by DaniMar



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, My First Fanfic, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-12 04:00:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 36
Words: 81,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28879122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaniMar/pseuds/DaniMar
Summary: Manami Kaigan was sent by the Hokage to a different world with only 11 years. Now after 8 years Kakashi is sent to bring her back. Will She be able to love again after she had dulled her feelings for so long?
Relationships: Kakashi Hatake/OC
Kudos: 2





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> It's rated 'mature' for a reason. Slow evolving romance with Kakashi. Other pairings. Obviously, I don't own anything of the Naruto universe.

Kakashi was studying his new mission file. Almost 10 years ago a jutsu was created that would open a portal to another world. After 2 years of various tests, they concluded that it was safe to send someone through. They wanted to know more about this world. So they send a young kunoichi to infiltrate and gather information that could be useful for Konoha and the Land of Fire. He was reading her file now. Manami Kaigan. Brown eyes and hair, tight in a ponytail. No special feature, only her smile was outstanding. It was a little smile but full of warmth. She was one year younger than him. Her family was civilian, only her grandfather from the farther side was a Shinobi. He died in the first shinobi-war. She began the academy with practically no experience but although She didn't end as class best, She was probably the one with more evolutions on their skills and knowledge. She was put on team 9 with a kunoichi called Kosai, a Shinobi called Migueru, and Inoichi Yamanaka as their Sensei.

The whole team was specialized in infiltrations and information gathering. Kosai didn't come back from a mission during the third shinobi war and Migueru was now an Anbu member.

In a report from Inoichi, it could be read that Manami had fire and water as chakra nature (a strange combination) and had shown signs of yin release.

It didn't matter how many times he would reread the files, this mission was just impossible to prepare for. He needed to find this girl in a completely unknown environment, possibly hostile, had no indication where She would be, and if She even wanted to come back. Initially, it was planned to bring her back after 3 years, but because of the third Shinobi war and the events with the Kyuubi afterward it didn't happen and from what the third Hokage told Kakashi, it's almost as if they forgot about Manami. Now the Hokage wants to bring her back by all means. No wonder they had chosen the captain of the best anbu-team to retrieve her.

Kakashi had 3 months to find her and bring her back. Every week they would open a portal for 2 minutes so he could come through. He took the photo of Manami that was on the file. The only thing he could do now was to pack food and other essentials to survive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, so my story will follow my OC, Manami Kaigan. I'm rather new to writing, especially in English so I would appreciate any feedback on my work. If you're an introverted person like myself, it's ok, just enjoy the story (hopefully).


	2. Back home

Manami had just woken up but her mind wasn't completely awakened yet. She didn't want to get up. She wanted to continue dreaming. She was dreaming of Konoha, her home. Now and then She dreamed about it and although She loved those dreams, afterward She became especially homesick. She missed her parents, her brother, and her best friend/neighbor/first love, Genma...

Becas, her cat came to her and rubbed her head against hers. Somehow she would always know when Manami was feeling down. She would always come to her and after a pet session, Manami would feel better. Like this time.

It was time for her to get up. In the morning She would do some yoga. That gave her muscles a good stretch and She had found out that afterward in meditation She could actually channel some chakra. It wasn't much. She could only charge one trap sign and it needed to be recharged every couple of days. But considering that the chakra in this world was practically nonexistent, it was a good achievement.

After breakfast, She went to college. She loved to study and learn things, so She had no problem gathering information for her mission. She had already some hard-drivers full of data ready to take back to Konoha. She also had 2 computers with a couple of solar panels for charging (one for the Hokage and the other for own use) ready for when She would get back to Konoha. That is if someone would come for her. But she is a positive person and hopes for the best.

After class, She would go to her gym and train. She would give some classes in martial arts and even yoga.

When She came to this world it wasn't easy. She lived on the streets for some time until She was brought to an orphanage. In the beginning, She thought of escaping, but then She started school and that was an opportunity to learn. Good thing She could convince people that She was 2 years older than what She really was. So with 16 She was '18' and could have her own place and work. She had taken a loan to buy the gym. It wasn't difficult since She was an Olympia winner in karate. She started her business with her best friend Isabella. Isabella was her only friend. Manami didn't want to get attached to anyone so it would be easier to let this life behind. She had more futile friendships, but she needed someone to trust so She wouldn't go crazy.

Meanwhile, Kakashi had arrived in this world. He had mentally marked the place he came out to find it again. He was watchful of his surroundings and found a Konoha leaf carved on a tree nearby. He went in that direction and saw another one. 'She left a trail' he thought. So he followed these trees until he was out of the woods. He was on a street and saw a city before him. He was speechless. So many buildings, fast cars, and people. He would be completely lost if Manami didn't lead him to her. When he gathered himself he realized that his Anbu uniform and mask wouldn't be helpful to stay unseen. He went back to the woods and changed into his normal ninja cloth. He thought about taking off his mask, but back then he saw some people with one, so he wouldn't stick out. Now back to the trail on the end of the woods he was searching for the next clue. He saw a big poster advertising a gym. "Konoha Gym". On the poster was a woman and it stated 'Learn from the best, learn with Olympia champion Manami'. 'This must be her'. Kakashi followed the indication on the poster and found the gym. Now he needed to wait and observe.

He saw her walking down the street. She entered the gym. She was in there for some hours and after She came out, he followed her home. She had a little house. Once inside She opened the balcony door and soon after a cat came out. Kakashi tried to get closer to see through the window. He wouldn't approach her today. His orders were to first observe. So he watched her go to the bathroom, probably to take a shower. He saw that Manami's cat was watching him. The expression She made was like She was judging him. He tried to shoo her away but had some trouble with it. Only after throwing a little stone did She go away. When he looked back inside he saw Manami only on her underwear. Although Kakashi was trained to be cold and don't show any emotions, the view of Manami's nice curves and toned muscles caught him off guard and he felt himself get quite warm. Afterward, She got dressed, went to her desk, and started her computer. He continued to observe her until She got to sleep.

The Next day Manami made the same routine as yesterday, as She did most of the days. She got up, made some yoga, breakfast, college, gym, and back home. But little did She know that She was being followed...

After 3 days of following Manami around, Kakashi already knew her routine. So this time when She got to shower he entered her house. That stupid cat gave him a stare, but he was used to it by now, so he continued with his advance. From the outside he had seen the complete house, only one room he couldn't see and he had a hunch that this room would be important. He opened the door and entered, but he got stuck. He didn't know what had happened, he just couldn't move any of his muscles. Panique begins to form when he hears Manami close the water. Soon She would be out of the bathroom and would see him...

After her shower, Manami came out in her underwear and went to her room to choose the clothes She wanted. But before She reached the other room She saw someone by the door to her spare room. The trap sign was over the door and it seemed that it had caught the intruder. She laughed and said to the man: "You're probably freaking out, but don't worry, soon you will be able to move again". She got dressed and reached for her handcuffs to put on the man for interrogating. It was hard to move his stiff arms so She could put on the handcuffs, but in the end, She was successful. She took off the sign and the man dropped to the floor like a puppet. She helped him up and pushed him to the couch. She grabbed one of her katanas that were on display and held it to his throat. She looked him up and down to evaluate him. His clothes were all black with a mask attached, mismatched eyes (right one gray end the other black), a scar over the left one, and gray, gravity-defying hair. He was familiar, She had probably met or saw him in Konoha as a kid. Most likely he wasn't much older than her. She began to interrogate him. "Who are you and what are you doing in my house?"

She was calm and in control of this situation, with a poker face too. Kakashi knew he was in her hands and to see how She handled herself was really hot. Was that wrong?

Becas showed herself again and jumped on the coffee table and sat turned to the prisoner.

'Great. The captain from the best Anbu team of Konoha has been caught and that damn cat looks like she is mocking me' these were the thoughts of Kakashi. He had no other choice than to explain who he was and what he was doing there. From what he had seen from Manami he was already sure that She wanted to go back, so there was no reason to lie. He told her the truth, but only the essentials like his name and that he was there to bring her back to Konoha.

"And why were you snooping around and trying to enter that room?" She asked.

He took a moment to think about what to say but he stuck with the truth. He had been gathering information and that room was the only one he couldn't see from the outside.

Manami got closer to him, put a knee between his legs, and more pressure on the katana. She was so close that Kakashi could see some gold nuggets shine in her brown eyes. He blushed with this closeness and felt quite aroused.

She took a moment to analyze his gaze to determine if he was saying the truth. She had come to learn that men under fear or in the perspective of sex are easier to read. She believed him so she backed off and took off the handcuffs.

Manami thought about what Kakashi had said. If he was here over 3 days he probably had only eaten military ration pills. He was probably starving for real food and needed a shower. Good thing she had some man clothes. Sometimes it would happen that a man would stay over during the night...

She went to her room and brought back some clothes and a towel. "Here, you can take a shower and put on clean clothes. I will make dinner in the meantime. I know that 3 days aren't much but you do not have to be uncomfortable."

Kakashi was baffled. She went from threatening seductress to caretaker or even a mom in the blink of an eye. He wouldn't let pass this opportunity to get clean and have a nice dinner.

Manami learned fast that Kakashi wasn't one for long speeches. She asked him about Konoha and what happened during the last 8 years. He would cut his answer short and stick to the essentials. She noticed that he didn't want to show his face so She gave him space to eat and began to clean the kitchen. Afterward, She showed the Room which he was so curious about. There were all things She had prepared to take back to Konoha. He seemed impressed.

Since it was Friday Manami invited Kakashi out and would show him around town. She had till Tuesday time to say goodbye to this world and it would be fun to show Kakashi some stuff. He was so aloof that She wanted to see what kind of reaction she could provoke in that hard trained (and good looking) shinobi of Konoha.

Manami would miss her car. It wasn't a Ferrari but it was a good car, nice to drive. Kakashi seemed to get a bit white while She was driving up the hill faster than She probably should. On top, they would have a wonderful view of the city lights. It was a nice spring night with no wind and a perfect clean view. Manami was talking about her past while driving and how difficult it was in the beginning, but She had come to love some things in this world and She would like to show him. Kakashi could read in between the lines. He understood that She wanted to say goodbye. She didn't want to become attached, but this was her home and life for the past years. So he gave her space on that mountain but it was quite difficult. That wonderful view. So many lights. He never saw a city that big. The sad expression on her face made him want to hug and comfort her. But when She looked back at him all her emotions were hidden and She smiled and that smile with the background took his breath away.

Manami was trying to memorize every detail of that view She so loved. It would be these little things She would miss the most. With a deep breath, She stored all things in her memory and was ready to leave. She saw that Kakashi was watching the city with big eyes and seemed quite speechless. Finally, She had a reaction from him...

The Next day would be Manami's last day at the gym. Manami went early as usual. She wanted to spar with Kakashi to see how She could hold against him. They got to the main training room and got ready to fight. Manami was counting on the lack of chakra to get the upper hand but was still careful. She made the first attack. Kakashi preferred to block than to evade because She was fast. Without the chakra, he was slower than what he was used to. They continued to attack, block, and evade. For some time it seemed that no one had the upper hand but then after blocking an attack from Kakashi She took the chance to throw him to the ground. She tried to hold him down by pulling his arm and with her legs over his chest. But She was used to fighting with women the same weight as her so She misjudged his strength and he could inverse the situation by pinning her down to the ground. She knew when She was defeated so She gave up.

"Good fight Kakashi. I need more practice."

"You're quite good, it was only an advantage of weight that made me win".

Isabella had arrived some time ago and was watching the fight. She was quite impressed. She knew her friend well but never saw her fight like that. "Wow, that was a hell of a fight!"

Manami introduced the two to each other and told Isabella that on Tuesday She would be gone.

Isabella wouldn't believe that She was really leaving.

"I told you the day would come when I needed to leave Isabella."

"But I thought it was bullshit Manami."

"I have everything ready to leave the gym to you and you think it's bullshit?"

Ok, it was no wonder that Isabella didn't believe her. If your best friend would tell you that one day someone would come to take her back home and She could never come back, not even call or write to you, would you really believe?

"Are you a princess of some little crazy land or something? And were you sent here by your parents to be saved from their enemies or something?" Isabella Said that really seriously. She was trying to make sense. Manami tried to pass that conversation without having to answer much.

"If you really want to know, Kakashi must kill you afterward..."

"Ok, ok. I must take it then. But I will always wait to hear something from you Manami."

Manami was relieved that Isabella didn't ask more questions. Good thing that Kakashi looked scary with that scar and face covered. It was still early for the first class so Manami got some swords and asked for a rematch with Kakashi. With the weapons, they needed to be more careful, but after a while, the fight was pretty intense. The sparkles flew with each coalition of the swords. The first students in the class were already there and were filming the fight. Manami had seen enough of Kakashi's fighting style to know that he stuck to a traditional Konoha style. She had a mix of several styles. One could say She had adopted her own but until now She was holding back. She took advantage of being faster and simulated a frontal attack to only swirl around at the last moment and grab Kakashi's arm, turn around him, and put the sword on his throat.

"You're dead, I win," She said with a big smile on her face. The people watching (there were some from the other classes as well) began to clap and cheer. Manami bowed to Kakashi as did he. He saw Manami's maneuver coming but let her win this time. He could see She was holding back. But it would be a long fight if they continued like that, or if they got more seriously someone could be hurt, and later would have more time to spar with each other.

Manami announced that this would be her last class. She didn't explain why only that substitute teacher would be arranged and who wished to end membership would be compensated. As always it seemed She had everything planned out for her leaving...

That night Isabella insisted on partying with their friends to say goodbye to Manami. She didn't consider them friends, She would only do small talk to them, but Isabella was quite persuasive, and She couldn't say no. So here they are in this bar near the river. Kakashi was tagging along. He had orders once he approached Manami he had to stick around to bring her back. He wasn't the social type, not even whit people he considered friends he would socialize much, but he had a lot of things to observe. This world was something to see. Everywhere he went he would be amazed by the things he saw and never would dream about that this would exist. This bar was full of people enjoying themselves without a care. It was a peaceful world he thought. He observed Manami too. She smiled almost all the time. She talked and laughed with her friend. She was quite popular. Little did he know how Manami was feeling. She had learned to fake almost perfectly her smile, almost every emotion She showed was planned by her to trigger the response She wanted from the others. When a 'friend' from her group asked to dance She accepted with a big smile. She loved to dance and wanted to forget her rising anxiety to go back.

Manami had watched Kakashi become more uneasy than usual so She wanted to try to take him out of his shell. She excused herself to her friend and went to grab Kakashi's hand and dragged him out to dance. He didn't want at first but by her insistence (and her puppy eyes) he stayed and danced whither.

"What is your first impression of this world?" She asked.

Kakashi thought about what to say. There were so many things.

"There are so many people here and the cities are enormous. It's almost like a jungle full of buildings instead of trees."

"Haha. That sounds about right."

They continued to dance and talk and laugh together. Manami found out that Kakashi has a good sense of humor. Who would have thought? Kakashi has found himself fascinated with Manami's laugh. Only now has he seen her real smile. The differences are subtle but her eyes sparkle when her laugh is true.

The night ended and the Next day Manami, Kakashi, Isabella, and her fiance went on a road trip. Manami wanted to burn all her favorite places in her memory so She could visit them in her dreams sometimes. Sunday went by and Monday too with all the paperwork for trespassing Manami's things to Isabella. At night Manami was feeling restless. Tomorrow would be the day to go back. What would happen to her? Would She continue as a Shinobi? Would the Hokage put her under interrogation? What about her friends, the few that She had would they still be her friend? She was scared and sad. Becas was gone since morning and at this time wouldn't come back for the night. Maybe tomorrow She would see her and could say goodbye.

Kakashi was so quiet that She had forgotten about him. But he was observing her and saw her hesitation. He had to make sure She would go back with him. It was his main goal for this mission and if they didn't go back tomorrow because of doubts, in a week (when the portal would reopen again) it would be even worse and Kakashi didn't want to fight her and drag her to the portal. So he asked what was wrong. She didn't want to tell everything so She only told the part about the friends. Kakashi without thinking promised her he would be her friend. Only after the words left his mouth did he remember that he doesn't do friends very well. But at least it put Manami more at ease and so they went to sleep.

The morning came and Manami and Kakashi were early on the spot where the portal would open. Becas didn't show up. Manami hoped that Isabella would find her and take good care of her. But now there is no going back. The portal opened and they grabbed everything to go through, at that moment Becas showed up and jumped on top of Manami and went through the portal with them... On the other side of the portal, in Konoha, as they emerged the first thing that Manami saw was a circle of shinobi, probably the ones to cast the Jutsu for the portal. In the middle, She saw Genma, and a big smile spread on her face but suddenly She felt light-headed. In more than 8 years She felt her chakra again but it seemed all out of control. Her body began to hurt as if it would reap apart. A shinobi from the Hyuga clan activated his byakugan and saw Manami's chakra completely out of control. It would kill her if She continued to focus so much. He made the first thing that came to his mind and closed some chakra points to try to put her chakra under control but She blacked out.


	3. To work

Manami was coming to herself when She heard a rhythmic bip, bip, bip... When She had the strength to open her eyes She saw that She was in a hospital. She looked around and when She moved her arms She felt the weight of some handcuffs. They were chakra suppressing handcuffs. They were only put on one arm so she wasn't hinder using her hands. So She was really back in Konoha. Her hart felted a little bigger.

"Good You're awake. I'm going to call a nurse." It was Kakashi who talked. He was sitting in a corner and was reading a book with an orange cover. Now he was wearing standard jonin clothes with the headband covering his left eye. As he was out of the room Becas jumped from the open window to the bed. Manami hugged her almost crying. She couldn't believe Becas came through the portal. "How did you know where I was and that I was about to leave?" She spoke the question out loud but never expected to have an answer.

"It wasn't really difficult to know what you were going to do since you and 'that guy' talked about it."

"......."

Manami was speechless. Did Becas just spoked or was She going crazy?

"Did you just spoked?"

"Yes."

"Since when do you speak?"

"Don't know. Do you know when you learned to speak?"

Manami rolled her eyes. ' _Great, either I'm going crazy or I have a sassy cat.'_

"But why do I only understand you now? Has it something to do with chakra? Are you a ninja cat, a ninneko?"

"Don't know. I need to leave now. See you later Nami."

_'Ooh, how sweet. Becas has a nickname for me. It's only fair since I have like 20 nicknames for her.'_

Becas made it barely out the window when a nurse came in. She checked on Manami and made some questions about her wellbeing until a doctor came.

He proceeded to continue the check-up and when he was leaving, outside was the Hokage. He asked the doctor about Manami's health and how long she needed to rest.

"I want her this night still here for observations although her health looks good. Then I will see how long She needs to rest. Probably some days, a week tops."

The Hokage came then in the Room. Manami tried to get up but he made a dismissive hand sign for her to stay comfortable. He began to apologize to her for taking so long to bring her home and assure her that he was happy She came back. Kakashi had already made his report but he was looking forward to hearing hers and seeing everything that She had brought back.

"I'm sorry Manami but I'm very busy right now. I wanted to see you personally but now I have to leave. Kakashi will tell you more. And I think that your parents should be here already."

The Hokage was right. Her parents were there already. Her mum began to cry, so did she out of happiness. Sometime later came her big brother too, with his wife and his baby daughter. _'How could this be? How could my irresponsible brother be already a father? Does that mean I'm an aunt? What do I do? Do I have to teach her something?'_ Manami was so scared when they gave her niece to hold. She was so small and just so cute.

After a while, the nurse came in and told everyone to leave for Manami to rest.

The Next day She could go home. She should rest for 2 days more before She could train and try to remove the handcuffs. Kakashi came by before she left the hospital and told her he would help her control her chakra and if she would like, he would help her train (Hokage's orders). Kakashi wasn't happy about those orders. It felt like babysitting and he was captain of an Anbu team, but a mission is a mission and he couldn't say no to the Hokage.

The 2 days went by really quickly. Manami enjoyed the company of her family. Her niece would stay with her parents while her brother and his wife were working.

Genma came by and it made her so happy to see him and talk to him. At first, it was a bit awkward but soon the conversation felt easy and it was like the old times. Just two friends hanging out together. The butterflies she once felt while around him were now gone.

He told her about her teammates. Kosai died in the war. They went on a mission that should be easy, but they stumbled over the enemy and were way outnumbered. Migueru was a little behind so he could escape. It hurt to hear about Kosai. She was one of a few Manami could call a friend. Back in the academy, the kids didn't want to be her friends because she came from a civilian family, and the kids that weren't in the academy considered her to be a shinobi and therefore wouldn't play with her either.

* * *

Finally came the day Manami could begin to have some light training and try to remove the handcuffs. But there was no sign of Kakashi in the morning, so She began to do some yoga. It felt so good to stretch her muscles. Afterward, to calm her mind, she meditated. At the quiet edge of the forest behind her parent's home, Manami tuned her breath to the sounds of nature. She felt the wind caress her little hairs on the neck, heard the birds chirping, felt the sun warming her wrists? Now they were burning! Manami ran to her parent's home and put her arms under the cold water. The handcuffs must have heated up and they burned her skin. Did she just focus her chakra? But as she recalled, that wasn't the way to do that. It was so weird. And the amount of chakra that was required to warm the handcuffs like that was really scary. Her thought was interrupted by a knock on the door. As her mother opened, she heard Kakashi's voice. She ran to the door and pushed Kakashi back out while saying bye to her mother. She wanted to get out as fast as she could, because She didn't want her parents mixed with her shinobi life. She acted so fast that she didn't even notice her hand on Kakashi's chest (his strong and firm chest...). When she noticed it, she was embraced but tried to act cool.

"Please say you are here to help me get rid of these." she said while wiggling the handcuffs in front of him, forgetting the burn on her wrist.

Kakashi grabbed her wrist and asked "What did you do? How could you focus so much chakra to burn yourself?"

"I don't know. I only was trying to calm myself by meditate"

Kakashi asked for her to explain exactly what she did, so she told him everything she had done. She wanted to understand what was happening to her. Kakashi thought about it. Was she perhaps focusing on natural chakra? That could be dangerous. What he recalled master Jiraiya told about natural chakra was that if it got out of control it could turn someone to stone. That was definitely not good. Best was if she didn't use that kind of chakra.

Becas was watching them, hidden nearby in the grass. Shortly after Manami went to her parent's home, she appeared there. She was enjoying this world. It was as if she would be more alive than ever before and way more conscious and smarter. Was it because of that chakra? She didn't need to gather it, it would flow through her body and She would just use what She needed. With the veil of ignorance gone, She was now self-aware and felt like She had a reason to be here. That reason was to protect Manami. She was her home and Becas needed to look after her. So when this guy showed up again she needed to see what he was up to...

Kakashi told Manami to meditate, but not to focus on the outside, but on her. She should steady her breath, calm her thoughts, and listen to her heartbeat. Kakashi lifted his headband protector to use his Sharingan. He needed to observe every detail of Manami to see if she would lose control over her chakra. If that was about to happen, he needed to react quickly. He saw that she was calm so he reached for her handcuffs. They weren't warm so she wasn't focusing her chakra. He removed them but Manami wasn't expecting his touch so she jumpscares and lost control of her chakra, not quite that much as before, but enough for Kakashi to put the handcuffs back on.

Manami was watching Kakashi curious. In the other world, his Sharingan was just a normal eye. Now she understood why he was covering it with his headband protector.

Kakashi brought her back to reality by scolding her for losing control. She tried again and this time it worked. Now her chakra feels as before. It was like riding a bike, once you learn it, you don't forget. She only didn't understand what she was doing before, but when she expressed her doubts to Kakashi he told her about the natural chakra, and it's dangerous.

Kakashi made her do some exercises while he tried to scare her and distract her to see if she would lose control, but she held her ground. Satisfied with the progress, Kakashi called the day. He recommended she put the handcuffs on for sleeping, which she did.

* * *

The next few days were spent training. Manami began to train her jutsus and Kakashi helped her learn some new ones. One day Kakashi was sent on a mission and Manami was called to the Hokage. He informed her about the payment she would get for her long term mission. He could never pay the amount for a continuous mission of 8 years, but he would pay her monthly for some time. Manami was already expecting something like this so she had brought some jewelry to sell and make money so she wasn't concerned about that. Afterward, she helped analyze some of the data she had brought back.

Since Kakashi wasn't back, Manami decided to do yoga. Genma came by and laughed at her because of the poses she would do.

"If you knew how good this does to your body you would be doing it with me." said Manami, daring her friend.

Proud as Genma was he accepted her challenge and soon they were goofing around in the weirdest and most difficult poses Manami would know. At one point Genma "loosed" his balance (one purpose) and pushed her with him to the ground. Manami felt over Genma and there she stayed because she couldn't move since she was laughing so hard.

Meanwhile, Kakashi was back from his mission. It was a hard one and he was all beaten up. He was actually looking forward to being whit Manami again. He didn't know why but she had a lightness to her and a contagious smile. As he approached the location near the forest edge where they usually would train he saw that Genma was with her. He didn't like the way they were laughing with each other and when Genma pushed Manami to the ground over himself, Kakashi needed to control himself to not menace Genma.

Putting a calm expression on, Kakashi greeted them. "Yo, need some help there?"

Manami almost jumped to her feet, not only because she was taken by surprise by his voice, but she was also embarrassed.

"Hey Kakashi, you're already back. Finally can my training continue."

"What's up Kakashi." was Genma's response. Turning to Manami he continued "I will let you two train then. I wanted only to ask if you want to come out later? Most of my friends are in the village and it's something that doesn't happen every day, so we want to hang out together."

"Yea of course I want. I have spent enough time at home. Where do we meet? Kakashi will you go too?"

Genma turned to Kakashi and started to chew on is senbon "If you want to come you're welcome Kakashi, I just didn't ask you because you usually won't come"

"Well, this time I think I could use some distraction. See you later then?"

Genma was taken by surprise by the response from Kakashi and the way he said it was almost defying. But he wasn't someone who liked to read much into things, so he let the two train and went to enjoy his day off.

Manami was oblivious to the unusual attitude of Kakashi. She was actually looking forward to going out at night. She wasn't a party girl or something like that, but she would enjoy talking with more people than just her parents or Kakashi.


	4. How to socializing

Kakashi couldn't take the image of Manami lying on top of Genma out of his head. Somehow it made him mad. She needs to train to become stronger so she can go on missions again. Yes, that's the reason why he was mad. He was losing his precious time to train her and she thanked him by fooling around. So he wanted to push her to her limits. He suggested sparring with each other.

Manami tried her best to stand against Kakashi, but he was not only stronger but also faster. She needed to concentrate on not losing control of her chakra and it was frustrating because she couldn't focus on a strategy. It was so infuriating because Kakashi kept whipping her ass. So she put all her chakra in her new fire-jutsu that she was still practicing. It was a fireball that after she had shot it, she could control like a missile (sometimes at least, as said she was still practicing). Kakashi didn't know about that jutsu and she was counting on taking him by surprise. She made the hand signs for the fireball and after shooting it, she made some more to maintain the control over it. Kakashi evaded without difficulty and saw Manami do some more signs so he prepared for another attack, but then surprise took over him when he felt warm air on his back and it was too late to evade.

'Puff' made Kakashi's clone as the fireball hit him. Manami was furious when she discovered that she was fighting against Kakashi's clone and had that much trouble to win him.

On the other side, Kakashi was quite pleased. To see her progress in only these short weeks was great and that new jutsu of hers was awesome! Manami was exhausted and her bruises were already becoming blue so Kakashi called in the day.

\--- Sometime later ---

Manami felt exhausted from the training but the excitement of going out and being with some other people than her family was too big for staying in. So at the agreed time, she met Genma in town. They went to a nice calm bar with background music so it was possible to talk to each other. There were tables and sofas and in a corner, Manami clearly recognized a member from Genma's old team. His green jumpsuit was still the same, only bigger to fit the man she once knew as a teenager. The bowl haircut didn't change. _'Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Might Guy.'_ Next to him was Asuma Sarutobi. He had aged well thought Manami. _'He's all muscles now, a real treat for the eye.'_ Next to him was of course his crush Kurenai. Manami would hang out with them back in the days whenever she wasn't with her team.

As soon as Guy saw them he jumped at Manami and hugged her while crying a river.

"Look at you, so youthful and all grown up."

It looked like Guy didn't change at all. Manami was happy about that. She always admired his willpower and that he wasn't ashamed of how he was.

After the same question as always ( _'how you've been', 'why didn't you send any news'_ and _'we thought you were dead'_ and such), the conversation became more relaxed, probably it had something to do with the alcohol involved (but nothing too much, at least for Manami). Anko passed by for a bit as did Raido but soon enough they were gone, one because she saw a snack walking (her words) and the other because he was tired. Manami didn't know them well, but sometimes when she would hang with Genma's team they would be there too.

After almost an hour in, Kakashi surprised everyone with his presence. Cool as ever he came with his hands in the pockets and said simply "Yo". Guy was the first one to recover from the shock and jumped up while pushing Kakashi on the seat he was on. "Hello, my eternal rival, come and sit with us". Manami needed to control herself for not bursting into laughter. Those two had practically the opposite personality but as it looked like they still were friends (or at least rivals).

Asuma knew how unsocial Kakashi was so he started a conversation: "Kakashi I heard you were helping Manami train so she can soon join her duties as a Shinobi. How's that going? Do you like to teach?"

Kakashi held his answer short, as expected: "She's evolving rapidly but I'm not doing much, it's all her doing."

Kurenai asked in a sweet voice: "Always so modest Kakashi, but tell me is it because of her that you came out today?"

Manami almost choked on her drink. She looked at Kurenai and saw her wicket smile. Now she remembers that Kurenai liked to play matchmaker. Probably to take the spotlight off of her.

But Kakashi stayed cool and ignored the hints: "Since she was the one to ask if I would come I would say yes, I'm here because of her."

 _'_ Tank _s Kakashi for passing me the hot potato'_ thought Manami. Everyone turned to her to hear what she would say: "What can I say, I'm a good person, and when Genma invited me and said everyone would be here I couldn't stay next to Kakashi and pretend he didn't exist, so I asked if he would come too."

For Kakashi, this was enough and he hid behind his book. It was the second time Manami saw that orange book _'Icha Icha Paradise'._ It was a suggestive name and she got curious and asked what that book was about.

Genma answered her: "It's a romance about a couple that falls in love."

 _'A bit basic'_ thought Manami.

Kurenai had another opinion though: "You call it a romance? It's smut. I can't believe that Kakashi reads it out in public."

_'Ok, that's more interesting. Maybe it's like fifty shades of Gray? '_

Kurenai continued to criticize Kakashi and sometimes Asuma would join after she asked him about his opinion. They went on and on until Manami couldn't sit still anymore. Kakashi was their friend so why would they pick on him that much? Maybe that's the reason why he rarely hung out with them.

"Ok I got it that you don't like the book, but Kakashi seems to enjoy it so why don't you let him be? It's not like there are obscene images that could offend someone only by looking at it."

Kurenai looked a bit offended. "Of course you would stand for him. But it's so perverted to read something like that in public"

"Oh Jesus, you guys are so conservative. I bet this book is less offensive than some that exist on the land where I lived and people read them in public, talked openly about them, and even made movies out of them."

Genma supported Manami's opinion, so the discussion went on. At one point came up the question about love and sex. For Manami and Genma those two could exist without another. For Kurenai that was unthinkable and after she asked Asuma it was clear he didn't have exactly the same opinion but didn't want to offend her. Guy was already too drunk to say something coercive, he babbled something about how Truelove was so youthful. Kakashi would peer sometimes over his book but didn't express his opinion.

Frustrated Kurenai asked Manami: "So you saying you could sleep with Genma tonight and in the morning you two would act as if nothing would have happened?"

Genma got quiet. For him, it was normal to have one-night stands but he never slept with a friend. He believed in true love, but as a shinobi, it was complicated to find someone and be with them while going on missions that could be his death. There were many thinking that way, so why not enjoy life and everything good there is. He knew that Manami liked him when they were younger, although he only found out before she left for her mission because she came to say goodbye and kissed him. It was his first kiss and probably the first for Manami too and he never forgot it. He wanted to talk about that with her but didn't know how to bring up the topic. Did she still like him? And did he like her that way? His thoughts were interrupted by Manami's voice.

"Let me get this straight Kurenai. If I wanted to have sex with someone that would only be of my concern and that of the other person. You can have your opinion and it can be different from mine but you don't have the right to bully someone because he thinks differently than you."

This conversation got tense though Genma, so he tried to calm down by acting silly: "So you're saying there's a possibility for us to sleep together tonight?" he suggested while wiggling with his eyebrows.

Manami laughs out loud: "Well I think yes. I mean even a 1% possibility is still a possibility." Everyone laughed at the disappointed face Genma made and the conversation continued with less tension. They avoided topics that could cause more arguments and the rest of the night went by really calm.

Little did Genma know that his possibilities weren't that small. It had been a while since Manami got laid and the last time wasn't even that good. She had to finish the job by herself. Tonight she also had the right amount of alcohol, not too much so she wouldn't do anything she would regret but enough to be looser. Let's see what the night will bring...

Sometime later Manami had lost count of the times she yawned so she said goodbyes to the others and went home. Genma offered to walk her home.


	5. Long night

It looked more like Manami would walk Genma home and not the other way around. He was drunk and had some trouble with walking straight. Actually, Genma wasn't that drunk but he wanted to be silly. He still thought about how he would bring their first kiss up. He needed to know what Manami felt about him, he had asked himself far too many times over these years.

While taking a more serious expression Genma took his courage and asked: "Manami there is something I wanted to ask you a long time ago. Why did you kiss me before you went on your mission?"

This question didn't take Manami by surprise. Back then she had kissed Genma without a warning. He was her first love but she never dared to act on her feelings but with the perspective of being on a mission for over 3 years, she had gathered all the courage and kissed him only to run away right afterward. She was so embarrassed, heck she still was. She could handle desire but feelings were too much for her. Genma was still waiting for her answer so she explained what she felt back then but now she only sees him as a friend.

Genma looked relieved. If she didn't like him anymore that means he didn't have to figure out if he had feelings for her or not. Now that he felt way more lighter he began to tease Manami. "And that talk about that we could hook up tonight with each other was that all bluff."

If Genma were truly as drunk as Manami thought at first, she would whiteout a thought saying he had no chance tonight, but she had noticed how he had changed when he asked about the kiss, so she thought this through. She had already made sure that he knew she had no feelings towards him and she also knew his opinion about sex without meaning. Since the question was spoken out loud she couldn't say she hadn't desire for him. Genma was hot and thinking about him naked on top of her made her legs tremble. "No, it was not a bluff. Why do you keep asking, are you interested?"

Genma almost choked on his senbo. This was getting serious. He didn't think about it. Well of course he had at some point thought how Manami was hot and how it would be to touch her body and feel her tremble with desire, but with most good-looking women he had such thoughts sometimes. But would their friendship stay the same? Was Manami even serious? There was only one way to figure it out.

Genma dragged Manami into a small and dark alley. He pushed her into the wall and looked her in the eyes. In a husky voice, he said "What if I am? what were your conditions?"

Manami was surprised by his action but was pleased that he put his hands only on her shoulder. She had the feeling he would only touch her when she said it was what she wanted. So she didn't need to worry explaining about consent. "It would be only sex. No feelings involved. If someone wants to stop at any time the other must respect it, and tomorrow we go on with our lives as before. No one has to know that we slept with another."

Genma wanted to respond, but they heard someone. It was Ebisu who was going home but when he saw Genma pulling a girl into an alley (perverted as he was) he followed them to pry. But what he heard was too much for poor Ebisu and he stumbled over his own foot. He knew he had been uncovered so he ran as fast as he could. Manami and Genma looked at each other and began to laugh. "Best is we go to my place and talk this over", so they went to Genma's place.

His apartment was small but pretty tidy. Genma began to make tea for them and they sat at the table. The excitement of being caught like that was gone and has been replaced by nervousness. No one of them was new to one night stands, but never did they do it with a friend. They got through the rules again also about protection and both agreed, but in the end, no one would act on it. Genma put aside his mug and took Manami's to hold her hand. He looked her in the eyes and said: "Manami we don't need to do this now, or ever. If you don't want it, it's ok."

Genma couldn't almost complete the sentence because Manami had pulled and kissed him. It was a short kiss only to shut him up and assure him that's what she wanted. He soon resumed the kiss. One hand would go to her hair, the other caressed her leg. It wasn't comfortable to make out sitting in those chairs so he separated the kiss and picked up Manami bride style to take her to his room.

*** WARNING ***

The following paragraphs have content not suited for underaged. If you are underage or don't want to read adult content (aka Lemon) jump to the next marked section

His room was illuminated by the light in the kitchen so it wasn't that bright, neither completely black. Manami was pleased with the change in the location. After Genma had been so hesitant she thought he wouldn't go through with it, but his kisses and caresses were letting her crave for more. Gone was her tiredness and the desire was growing with every second that passed. When Genma put her down, he let his hand slip under her shirt and caressed her back. The other hand wandered to her neck and pulled her to deepen the kiss.

She took a more aggressive approach and took off his shirt right away. She let her hands travel up his exposed chest until she could intertwine her arms around his neck. She began to kiss his neck until she felt his collarbone. There she sucked on the flesh and liked it. That got Genma to gasp and soon she founded herself without her shirt. He looked at her body and seemed to approve. Hungry he grasped one of her breasts with a hand, the other was on her ass and his mouth claimed once again hers. He ran his fingers over her already hard nipple. The feeling that his touch provoked was of pleasure and it made her go wet. He soon reached for her bra clasp and opened it. As the bra fell to the floor, Genma pushed her on the bed. He kissed and sucked her nipples, one after another, and then continued to kiss her belly until he got to her pants.

He stopped there and searched Manami's eyes. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked.

"Yes, please continue Genma." Manami was so aroused, she couldn't even think of stopping now.

Her pants were gone and he caressed her inner thigh. While kissing her again he reached her underwear and felt her wetness through the fabric. He continued to rub her clit and his touch let a moan escape her lips. She reached between them and opened the zip of his paints. She pushed them down as far as she could but since Genma was kneeling between her legs, the pants wouldn't go down all the way. He ended up removing them himself. As he got on top of her again, she turned them around and sat on top of him. Genma had a good view of her naked breasts and when Manami began to rub her clit on his erection his hands went instantaneously to her bum to press her even harder against him. The kunoichi had enough of the foreplay. She wanted, no, she needed to feel him inside her. She was burning with desire. "Please go get the condom" she begged.

Genma was just eager to obey and sat on the edge of his bed to reach for his bedside table where he had condoms. He was about to reap open the package but Manami took it out of his hand. She would put it on. She was so aroused that she wouldn't need long to climax and in her experience, the guy would loos desire when he needed to put on the condom himself. So she ordered him to take off his boxers. He obliged without a word while she was watching him. He stayed at the edge of the bed so she took out the condoms and kneeled on the ground in front of him. She made eye contact while sliding the thin fabric over his erection. After it was in place, Manami stood before Genma and took off her underpants slowly while he licked his lips with desire.

He couldn't take it anymore and pulled her on his lap. He guided himself inside her witch made her cling to his neck with more force. They began to rock back and forth. It was too slow for Genma. He wanted more so he got up while taking Manami with him. He pushed her against a wall and without letting her touch the ground he slammed himself against her. Manami was in bliss. She had some trained man in her bet but till now no one could take her standing like that. She could feel how deep Genma was and she felt her release approaching rapidly.

After some more thrusts, she felt waves of pleasure roll over her body that made her tremble. Genma felt how she became tighter and how her body shivered. He knew she had reached climax and he soon followed her.

*** End of Lemon ***

* * *

His legs were shaking with exhaustion but he managed the few steps to bed where he laid Manami down. She was thankful for that because her legs would probably not hold her up right now. Genma crushed to bed next to her.

_'God a cigarette would good now_ ' thought Manami. She hadn't the habit to smoke but she would have a cigarette now and then especially if she would hang out with smokers or if she was completely satisfied like now. But she didn't have any smoke with her so she would settle with the next best thing. She asked Genma if she could take a shower so she wouldn't wake up her parents at home. She was in and out of the shower in 5 minutes. It was becoming late and she wanted to go home. When she came out Genma was in his boxers. She said goodbye to him, gave a kiss on his cheek, and teleported herself in front of her parent's home.

She hated to teleport herself, it made her sick to the stomach. Good thing that the last time she ate was some hours ago and the alcohol was out of her system. She got to her room as quietly as she could and almost instantly as her head hit her pillow she fell asleep.


	6. New Abilities

The alarm clock went on next to Manami's bed. Time to rise and shine. Ore not... Manami would most days get up right away, but not today. She was all sore because of yesterday and had way too little sleep so she let herself stay in bed a bit longer. 20 minutes later she jumped out of bed because she had fallen asleep again and thought it had been way more time. When she saw the time she facepalmed herself but at least she was up now.

As she changed clothes she saw herself in the mirror. She was covered with black and blue marks consequences of the beating she got from training with Kakashi. But the ones on her bum looked like fingers. Genma had gripped her hard. Images of last night came to her mind and she blushed. But she needed to move. She wasn't late yet, but she didn't get time to daydream.

After she got ready in the bathroom she went to the kitchen, said good morning to her parents, put some toast in the toaster, drunk some water, and poured herself a large cup of coffee. She prepared her toasts and was off to her training location.

If Kakashi came at the same time as always (she was counting on him being late), she didn't have time for a complete yoga practice that's why she would stick with a simple sun salutation until he would grace her with his presence. She could only do 7 repetitions till he showed up. After some lame excuse of why he was late, they resumed their training.

Kakashi noticed how tired Manami was and took training easy for the day. He was thinking about what she said last night. He didn't expect that she would speak out for him as she did. Normally most women would be offended when he was reading that book. With her attitude, he remembered his promise of being her friend, which he couldn't say that he had fulfilled.

Just before noon, an anbu member came to inform Kakashi that he had been summoned by the Hokage and should report back asap. With the training interrupted Manami went home. A rest day would be good too. Later Kakashi found her in the garden. He had scared her so much that if she would have her weapon pouch with her she would throw a kunai at him. He was wearing his anbu uniform and had a full backpack on. He took off his anbu mask and said: "I need to go on a mission that could take up to two weeks. I wanted to inform you so you don't need to wait for me to show up."

"Thank you, Kakashi and please stay safe." Said Manami and kissed Kakashi's cheek for goodbye. It was the first time she did it, but it was the first time Kakashi came and said goodbye too, so it was something she did without thinking, everyone says goodbye to a friend when he leaves, right? But it took Kakashi by surprise and made him almost jump back when she came that near him. He cleared his throat and said a quick 'thank you, you too' put his mask back on and was gone.

*******

Sometime later Manami was heading downtown again. Yesterday before she left with Genma in the bar they had agreed to meet again today. Before she could reach the bar Genma appeared...

"Hello, Manami how are you?" Genma sounded so formal because he had some trouble in acting normal after last night. Manami had left so fast that he thought something wasn't right. Perhaps she didn't like it? But then again, normally it would be him that left the girl as fast as he could like he would be running to escape a fiend. Perhaps this was his Karma getting back to him.

His nervousness didn't pass unnoticed by Manami: "Hey Genma. I'm as always, well maybe a bit tired than usual but I can't put a finger on why." She wiggled suggestively with her eyebrows to try to lighten the mood. Genma chuckled and seemed to relax a bit.

"So, Ebisu is going to be at the bar too" warned Genma, "you can count on him to tell everyone that he saw us in that alley, what are we gonna say?"

Manami considered their options for a bit, then said: "We can say the truth. Nothing happened in that alley. That we went to your place afterward no one has to know. It's just our business."

With that settled they went inside the bar. It looked as most just got there too. Kurenai was still standing on the counter ordering her drink while Asuma was just sitting down by the table where Raido and Guy were. Manami wanted to apologize to Kurenai for being so aggressive to her last night. What Manami said was her opinion and she had the right to defend her point of view, but there are different ways to say the same thing...

Manami ordered a drink for her (nothing with alcohol, can't drink every day) and apologized to Kurenai which said she was sorry too. They were making Smalltalk when Anko showed up: "What's up you two?" She reached for Kurenai's glass and took a sip. She made a sad face because she thought it was alcohol but it was only soda.

Meanwhile, by the table where their friends were, arrived Ebisu. "Good evening everyone. So Genma, did you have a nice night yesterday with that girl?"

"I could have had if we weren't interrupted by someone. And by the way, that girl is Manami, do you remember her? She used to be my neighbor and hang out with us." Genma tried to deviate the conversation to not draw the attention of the others, but it didn't have the intended effect.

The insinuations from Ebisu did not pass by Asuma unnoticed. He wanted to know more "What exactly happened when you two left?"

Since Ebisu probably heard what they said, Genma could not deviate from the truth. "We talked about hocking up, but it didn't pass that. When Ebisu showed up the mood was gone."

At this time the girls join their friends by the table. Asuma insisted and asked Manami what happened with Genma during the night.

"Oh, you wish you would know, don't you? Maybe we slept with another or maybe not. I won't tell you anything." was the answer from Manami. She wasn't about to share her intimate life with them.

After Kurenai and Anko asked what had happened, they all made bets on if Genma and Manami had hooked up or not. After they finally had lost interest in them, the rest of the night went really enjoyable and this time Manami went straight home after leaving the bar.

*****

The next day Manami was in the kitchen eating breakfast when her mother came in "Good morning Mom."

"Good morning. Last night you came pretty late again, two days straight and that under the week?"

Manami didn't like that comment. She had lived far too many years alone, for now, to have to give justifications about the times she would go out. Guess it was time to find her own apartment...

Later, Manami was gathering her chakra to try something new. She had thought if it was possible to infuse the ground with water and then bring it to boil whit fire. She hoped that the boiling water would be ejected like a geyser and burn however would be on top of it. Since she had been specialized in infiltration, this technique would come in handy as long as she would stay undetected. But she was interrupted by Becas. Her cat came up to her and asked to be petted. She didn't shut up until Manami told "You know, I liked you more when you didn't talk. You can be really annoying." After that, Becas began to meow and still demanded attention. "Fine, I think I can use a break." She sat under a tree and made a signal for Becas to sit on her lap.

Becas purred content. After a while, she asked "What were you even doing? You were just sitting there."

Offended Manami answered: "I was not. I was gathering chakra for preparations for a jutsu."

"That's how you gather chakra?" asked Becas unbelievable.

After Manami told her "Yes of course? Why, do you know another way?" Becas told her how she would take the chakra she needed from the surroundings. That intrigued Manami and she asked if she could teach her. "You already did it. You just absorbed too much and the natural chakra would come in conflict with your own chakra."

What Becas said made sense but it was still dangerous to try without someone nearby to see after her. She would need her handcuffs and someone who would put them on in case she lost control. But who could it be? Kakashi would probably not agree to that. He said it was too risky and in the end, he was on a mission, and Genma too.

It was nice to just sit there for a moment while petting Becas and just relaxing a bit. It's true what they say about cats. Having one surely helps relieve stress. But soon the quiet was gone as a green figure showed up. Becas hasted away and Manami envied her a little because it would be rude for her to do the same.

"Hello, my youthful friend. Don't say you've already finished with your training? Come on, where is all that energy?" Guy arrived with a cloud of dust behind him as he slowed down his sprint. Manami hates herself a bit for telling him yesterday where she would train... But he could help her if she could convince him to stay put for a while. "Hello, Guy. I'm actually centering myself so I can get my energy to max potential. But I needed some help to try something new. Do you wanna help me? I promise afterward we can train together." Guy didn't need much time to think, he accepted eminently and said it would be an honor to be Kakashi's substitute.

After Manami got her handcuffs she told Guy what he had to do. Afterward, she took a comfortable seat and let her mind go empty first. Last time she opened all her senses to the outside and it was too much. Maybe she should focus on one thing at a time.

In the other world, she had thought a lot about what chakra was and why she couldn't focus it there the same way she could here. Maybe natural chakra could be compared to energy. There are many different forms of energy, like heat or sunlight. The sunshine which reaches the earth's surface is composed mainly of 3 different radiation tips, the infrared, the visible light, and ultraviolet light. Manami tried to visualize the radiations by feeling its heat on her skin. She tried to imagine the spectrum of waves emitted by the sun and the energy they brought to her skin to warm it. She needed some time but then she could see the energy floating with her inner eye. Was that the natural chakra or was it something else? And what now? She needed it to let it flow through her, that was what Becas said, right? How could she do that? She imagined those waves traveling through her body but that only resulted in loose control over her chakra. Good thing that Guy was still watchful and he put the handcuffs on her before she loses her senses.

"What happened Manami, what did you do?" Concern was on Guy's face. It was an unfamiliar expression on him and Manami felt bad, but she felt like she could use this somehow. She said to Guy he didn't have to worry about her, that if she had success she would become way stronger.

So back to her theory. What if her system was different from Becas and She couldn't do the same thing like her? Could she at least manipulate it? This time she focused on the wind. She felt a light breeze playing with her hair. She imagined the wind movements until she could distinguish them with her eyes shut. Would she be able to influence the movement of the wind? At first, it didn't seem to work but then she got frustrated and a strong wind blew in her face. 'Wow, nice.'

She continued to try new things. Guy needed to intervene sometimes and was becoming more nervous about the wellbeing of Manami. She was becoming really white in the face. She couldn't continue like that. "Hei Manami why don't we take a break and go eat something?" Manami didn't even notice that it was already afternoon. She felt bad for abusing his kindness and when she was standing up she felt the exhaustion taking over her body. Guy had held her before she fell to the ground. She really needs to eat something to get her strength back.

*****

Manami was so full that she could almost explode. Guy was fun to hang out with after getting used to his peculiarity. Now that Manami felt better again they trained together. They would fight with each other, do exercises, and run.

The next few days they spent together. In the morning Guy would watch over Manami while she would figure out some more what she was able to do, and in the afternoon they would train together. Guy would push them hard, but all that work was showing. Manami was getting faster, stronger, and had more resistance. The manipulations of the natural chakra were evolving too. For two days now she didn't get any intervention from Guy and the chakra suppressing handcuffs.

After a week Guy had been sent on a mission and so Manami used that time to find an apartment for herself.

  



	7. Becoming a Jonin

Today Manami had 3 appointments to see apartments. She hoped one of them would be her next home. She was heading to the marketplace because there would be her first visit. She passed by her former sensei's flower shop and decided to see if he was inside (she had already been with her sensei since she came back. It's not like she had forgotten about him or something like that...). When she came out of the shop she saw Kurenai with some grocery bags and since she had time she helped her bring them home. Afterward, Kurenai would accompany her to see the apartments.

The first one was not bad. It had 2 bedrooms but all rooms were pretty small. The second apartment was a bit more to the south. The entry was to the side of where the dining table could be. Behind was an open kitchen. To the right, it opened up to the living room. In the middle would be a small hallway with the bathroom to the left (on the kitchen side) and one big bedroom to the right. The balcony was the length of the living room and bedroom and had a door in each room. This apartment was promising. In the big bedroom, she could put a desk in the corner with her computer. But let's see what the last apartment was like. It had 2 bedrooms like the first, but one of them didn't have any windows and she disliked that. The decision was made, the second it was. Manami was so happy.

In the afternoon she sold some of her jewelry to buy furniture, crockery, and other stuff she needed. The next day she would already have the apartment keys and began to clean. Her parents helped her with cleaning and assembling the furniture. Soon Kurenai appeared with Asuma too. Manami was so happy because the past month since she got back to Konoha She felt like her life was finally worth living. She could now have friends, real ones with real bondings, and who she could count on. She hadn't told anything to Kurenai if she could help, but still, she was here and had brought Asuma too. Her abilities as a Shinobi were evolving too, so life was really good right now.

That night Manami slept in her new apartment. Becas was there too. She liked the place. It wasn't on the ground, but the first floor wasn't that bad. Her home was wherever Manami would be, but here she could have peace again because Manami's niece wasn't here to push her tail. She loved to take some long naps on the couch without someone to bother her.

The next few days Manami continued to evolve her newfound abilities. She found out she could manipulate the elements. The wind was the first. She could redirect the wind, make it blow stronger, and even concentrate it to the point where it could make cuts to the trees. Fire and water were her elements, but when she made the same approach as with the wind, she could manipulate those with only a little cost of her chakra. Earth was a bit trickier. It couldn't move like the others elements and needed whey more chakra to be manipulated. But Manami had a trick. She would bring the groundwater up so the earth would be soaked and with that by manipulating the water she would move the earth too. She hadn't the opportunity to test her abilities with electricity. Where would she find it anyway? She was tired and decided to quit training for today. Tomorrow She would take it easier. It would made one week since she moved to her new apartment and it was in need to be cleaned...

Kakashi had finally arrived back from his mission and he was so tired. After making a report to the Hokage he went home. He had taken a shower and was now sleeping although it was still afternoon. Since he hadn't slept in two days he would only wake up in the morning. The sun needed some more minutes to rise but Kakashi was already up and feeling like a new man. After visiting Rin's grave and the memorial stone, Kakashi was off to train with Manami. She wasn't on her usual training spot, so he went to her parent's home in search of her. Her mother informed him she had her own apartment now and gave him her address.

Now he was standing in front of her door. He had already rung the bell 2 times but she didn't open the door. He heard the sound of the vacuum cleaner so presumed she couldn't hear it. He tried the door and it was opened so he stepped inside. Manami was turned with her back to the door. She was wearing a tank-top and had short shorts on. She was rocking to the music she was probably leasing on her headphones. Kakashi was surprised by the view and couldn't take his eyes off of her exposed skin. Her black bra holder that was showing reminded him of the time he had seen her only in underwear. So he decided to lean on the wall and enjoy the show until Manami would take note of his presents.

Manami liked to have a clean and neat place, but she hated to clean. The only way she could make it bearable was to listen to music, preferably with the volume turned up so she could enjoy the music. Sometimes she would even be silly and dance to it. To not disturb the neighbors she would use headphones. That's why she didn't hear Kakashi when he came in and when she turned and saw someone in her entrance she jumped. "What the fuck are you doing Kakashi? Do you want to kill me by scaring me to death?"

He chuckled... "Sorry, but to my defense, I rang the bell two times. Since the door was open I let myself in and when I saw you were busy I didn't want to interrupt you and enjoyed the show you were giving."

Since Manami was next to her couch she reached for a pillow and threw it at Kakashi. He smiled and caught it without a problem. Manami asked him "Are you here for something important or can it wait till I'm finished?"

"It can wait. Just wanted to resume your training."

Manami said he could make himself comfortable on the couch if he wanted and so he did. He had taken out his book but wasn't really reading it. He would watch Manami every time he got a chance. He was a man and she was nice to look at. He couldn't really help himself...

It looked like Manami's resting day was canceled. She was now standing in front of Kakashi on the training ground. She wanted to show off her new abilities and test them on a fight, that's why she suggested they spar. They began easy. Kakashi was still a bit tired of his mission and Manami was still planning on how to incorporate her new skills in a fight. After forming a plan she had sent some fire jutsu to Kakashi which made an earth wall to protect him. Manami was counting on that and called on the groundwater to rise and infuse his earth wall with water. She made the wall fall on Kakashi who was surprised but still could escape. Manami used his distraction to create a clone and hide herself. While her clone was fighting Kakashi, she prepared her geyser jutsu. The ground was already full of water but before she would heat it, she compressed the water with the soil. with the pressure, the water could be heated over 100 ºC (212 ºF) without beginning to boil. When she would release the pressure, the water would instantly begin to boil and with an opening to the surface, it would be ejected turbulently to the air. She didn't want to burn Kakashi alive, but she was sure he could evade the hot streams of water. So she released in some spots the pressure and Kakashi had to jump around to escape the water hell Manami had unleashed.

Her Clone wasn't so lucky as Kakashi and when it was hit by a steam, it made puff and was gone in a cloud of smoke. Manami couldn't stop now. She had to continue attacking Kakashi so he hadn't time to launch an attack of his own. She had called upon the wind now. She was throwing slash upon slash of wind in Kakashi's direction. He was so surprised how much stronger she had become in only one week. He couldn't figure it out how she had mastered the wind nature and how the fuck she could create jutsus without using hand signs. with his Sharingan he could see from where the wind was coming and evade being cut, but he didn't see her make any hand signs. _'Has she made more than one clone and was hiding somewhere?'_

Kakashi had thrown some kunai at Manami to stop her constant attack. She summoned an earth wall to protect herself and that made for Kakashi being even more impressed. _'She could use at least 4 of the 5 elements? Since when?'_

They continued fighting. Kakashi had managed to close the distance between them and they were using only taijutsu again. When he managed to cut Manami in the arm he was surprised that she wasn't a clone. He was now eager to end this fight so she could explain how she had become so strong in such a short time. He uses an opening of hers to punch her in the stomach which made her stumble backward against a tree. He quickly put his left arm against her chest to hold her in place and with the other hand put a kunai on her throat. They stared at each other's eyes for a moment, both out of breath. Kakashi then declared he won.

He let Manami go but confronted her immediately about her progress. She was a bit hesitant to explain things, but she felt like Kakashi wouldn't let this go until he would understand. Kakashi went mute after Manami's explanation. He was thinking about the implications. It was dangerous for her to use natural chakra but the results were amazing. He had never seen someone make such progress in such little time.

Since the fight exhausted their energy they decided to have lunch. They passed by Ichiraku's and took some ramen to eat at Manami's apartment. Since Manami was used to Kakashi hiding his face even while eating, she took her box and was eating on the couch with her back facing Kakashi so he could take off his mask and savor the food instead of swallowing it down to not show his face. She didn't know why he hides his face but she would respect his privacy. Kakashi was suspicious at first, she could turn around anytime to get a glimpse of his face like everyone tried to, but she didn't. With every day he passed with her he came to appreciate more her company and friendship. She was different than everybody he knew (thank God not different like Guy was tough).

He thought it was time to report to the Hokage about her progress. He had the mission to prepare her to resume her Shinobi life and if he thought she had surpassed Chunin level the Hokage would test her and if she passed she would become a Jonin. This wasn't the way they would do things, but the elders had agreed to make an exception for her because of the hard and long mission she had. But Kakashi wanted to know if this was what Manami wanted so he asked her. "Manami, you are still on vacation from your duty as a Shinobi, but do you still want this life for you? You had a completely different lifestyle in the other world. Are you sure you want to put your life in danger with every mission you accept?"

That question caught her by surprise. She wasn't used to missions anymore, that was true. When she had decided to become a shinobi she didn't know about the sacrifices they had to make with such a lifestyle since She was only 4 back then. But someone had to be a shinobi. They were the military force of the land, they were the protectors. She couldn't just quit and be ok with the knowledge that someone had to take her place. If she was capable of defending her homeland, her family, and friends she would do it, even if that means she had to risk her life or her happiness, she would do it.

Kakashi was pleased with her answer. What she felt was what most felted too. In that afternoon he reported to the Hokage about her progress and that she would probably soon be ready to be tested. The Hokage was curious about her abilities to sense the natural chakra. He inquired Kakashi if it was possible to learn that capability. Kakashi couldn't say. Manami might have become so sensitive about the natural chakra that would flow freely because of the years she lived in the other world and her effort to gather chakra. The Hokage considered Kakashi's theory and ordered him to prepare Manami for her test. Till then he was cleared of all his other duties. It was complicated to not send Kakashi for any mission because there were many at that time. But as soon as Manami would begin to take on new missions that would be another shinobi he could count on. And if she would become a Jonin, that would make it possible to send her on more difficult missions than if she would be only a Chunin. Maybe she could even become an Anbu...

The next days the intensity of Manami's training was raised even more. Kakashi would push her to her limits every day. She would try to find more ways to use her abilities. She had thought about the sunlight and how it reflects on the surfaces of the objects. The colors we see are the result of the deflected color from a sunbeam. The part of visible light is composed of the colors of the rainbow. A rainbow is the result of the light being broken by water drops or something else and the full specter of color can be seen. The objects absorb some of the specters of the visible light, which means we see the colors that aren't absorbed by the objects. Something black absorbs all colors from the visible light and something white reflects all of them. That's why black surface becomes warm faster than white ones because they absorb more radiation and therefore more energy. So how could Manami use this to her advantage? If she could manipulate the light to reflect when and what color she wanted, it could be possible to create an image of whatever she wanted. At least that was the theory. It would be handy for her to infiltrate like she could make herself invisible. With that thought, she began training to manipulate the sunlight. It would take time but it seemed her theory was possible.

* * *

Time had passed and today was the day she would have to put her abilities to test. She was on the first training ground. The elders were there with the Hokage. Kakashi was there too and a member of the Anbu equipped with mask and all, was standing a bit farther away. The Hokage explained what he had in mind for Manami's test. She had to fight against the Anbu-member. Since they didn't know each other's capabilities no one had an advantage or disadvantage over another and the Hokage and the elders could evaluate her abilities better. She didn't require to overcome her opponent to be considered as a Jonin, but it sure wasn't bad if she could.

Everyone gave Manami and the Anbu-member space. The two fighters bowed to each other as a sign of respect. They took their fighting stance and began. Manami was eager to show off her abilities to the Hokage but she wasn't dumb to underestimate her opponent. Even if he wasn't as capable as Kakashi, he was still in the Anbu and therefore was an elite shinobi. To learn about his moves, Manami throws some kunai at her opponent. As expected he could evade all of her weapons.

They fought for some time until Manami had tried the same tactic as she had with Kakashi. She waited until she could perform a distraction to her opponent so she could create a clone and she could disappear out of sight to prepare her geyser Jutsu. Afterward, when she launched her wind attack, she could make some hits on the Anbu-member. The cuts while not deep they were bleeding and burning which slowed her opponent a bit down. Now with the fight to her advantage it was only a question of time until she could overtake her adversary. with an earth movement provoked by her, the Anbu-member lost his stance and Manami launched herself against him and was successful to bring him to the ground and to press a kunai against his throat, winning this fight.

The elders were surprised she had actually won. The Hokage was pleased. He knew about her abilities because of Kakashi's report, but seeing it first hand was something else. Kakashi was proud of Manami and seeing how happy she was made him happy too. After a short discussion between the Hokage and the elders, the third declared Manami from this moment on to be a Jonin. After congratulating her they were gone. The Hokage would expect her to report to him the next morning.

Now there were only Kakashi and the Anbu-member with Manami. The second one came to Manami to congratulate her: "That was a fight, you have some skills there." He took off his mask and showed his face to Manami. She looked at him and her eyes widened in recognition.


	8. The shinobi behind the mask

When he had taken off his anbu mask Manami needed only a few seconds to recognize him. It was Migeru. She was so happy to see him that she jumped right in his arms to receive a bone-crushing hug. "Wow, Manami you were awesome, you became so strong. I missed you so much."

"I missed you too Migeru and who would have thought that you would become an Anbu, lazy as you were."

'Migeru, where have I heard that name? Right, it was in Manami's file. He is her former teammate.' Kakashi wanted to congratulate Manami for becoming a Jonin, but since she was talking to Migeru he gave them space to talk to each other. He would find her later and give her his gift for becoming a Jonin. He didn't doubt that she would raise her rank today, that's why he had already bought her a present. It was a set of kunai resistant to heat so she could flow her fire or water chakra into them.

Manami saw how Kakashi left and felt quite disappointed that he would leave like that without congratulating her or saying anything. She wanted to thank him for everything he had done for her even if it was his mission. She had thought they had become real friends but now she wasn't so sure anymore. Migeru brought her back from her thoughts. She wanted to catch up with him so she invited him to her home after he would treat his cuts that she had inflicted.

In Manami's apartment, her friends waited impatiently for her arrival. Good thing she would let her door unlocked all the time or else they needed to wait outside. She didn't need to fear that a normal thief would invade her house, because who would be so dumb and rob a shinobi. This way she didn't need to lock the door every time she would go out, neither search for the key to unlocking it.

As Manami enter the door she was surprised to see Genma, Kurenai, Asuma, and Gay waiting to hear the news. Manami put on a sad expression to see if she could trick them, but Genma didn't believe her for one second. "Oh come one Manami, spill it out without lying." She changed her expression instantaneously and announced that she had become a Jonin. Everyone congratulated her and said they needed to celebrate it. Manami invited everyone for later at her home. There would be snacks and drinks.

After a quick shower, Manami felt much better. Migeru had hit her a few times too which left bruises on her skin. Nothing that she wasn't used to anyway. After a while, Migeru was standing at her door. They caught up on old times and Manami was talking around what had happened to Kosai but in the end, she asked what had happened. It was hard for Migeru to recall the mission where she died and Manami felt bad for bringing it up, but she needed to know. She hugged Migeru to try and comfort him. After a while, he let go of the hug. The light pink on he's cheeks passed unnoticed by Manami...

It had passed so many years but he had never forgotten about her. He loved her, he always did even in the academy when no one would talk to her. He tried to make a conversation with her but he was too shy. Now that she was back and more beautiful than ever he wouldn't let his chance pass.

Migeru wanted to change the subject but since they were talking about dead team members: "That guy that was watching your test earlier, that was Kakashi Hatake, wasn't it?"

"Yes, he has helped me train since I came back. Do you know him? He is a captain in the Anbu."

"I have heard about him. Some call him friend killer." Manami was baffled with that statement. "Why? Why would someone call him that, do you know?"

"I heard that during the war he went on a mission with his teammates and the Uchiha one didn't come back. Afterward, Kakashi appears with one of his Sharingan. Some months later they say that he killed the girl from his team. That he had pierced her chest with his bare hand."

Manami was listening with her mouth open. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She didn't know Kakashi that long but that story can't be true, can it? And the implication with the Uchiha? Sounds like he killed his friend to have his Sharingan. "You don't know what happened on that mission during the war. I mean Kosai died on a mission too and so did others. And that he killed his other teammate could be an accident or an order if she wasn't loyal to Konoha or something like that."

Migeru didn't like how she was defending Kakashi. He didn't know why it bothered him because he didn't give much importance to those rumors either, but she cared too much for his liking. "I don't know, that is only what I have heard. But would you trust him blindly?"

Manami went still for a moment considering what she had heard. Most shinobis have been through some shit, most had seen friends die or even family members. Probably there was more to Kakashi's story. But after hearing that, could she trust him with her life? Because that was necessary on a mission, the trust between team members.

When she saw the time she jumped. They got distracted and She still needed to buy the snacks and boos. She quickly convinced Migeru to accompany her (so she would have one more pair of hands to help with the bags). While shopping Migeru disappeared for some time to buy her a gift but found Manami later for eating together some fast food.

*** Sometime later***

All her friends came at once. When Manami opened the door, Anko was the first to go in. "What's up fellow Jonin? I wasn't invited but where there's a drink, I'm there too." Manami smiled at her statement and handed her the first drink which she accepted happily. In the background was some music from the other world that Manami had brought and they began to eat, drink and talk together. Migeru had an eye on Genma. He suspected that Manami liked him when they were kids. She would always hang out with him and after they formed a Genin team Genma would continue to show up.

After some time the bell rang. _'Who could it be at this time? I hope it's not the neighbor, but it isn't that late to be complaining about the noise.'_ Manami went to open the door and it was Kakashi. She pushed him inside before he could see everyone and decided to disappear before he came in. Kakashi greeted everyone: "Hey guys, I'm sorry for being late, but no one had told me about a party."

Manami was offended because that was an accusation to her. Putting on a mean face she replied to Kakashi: "Hadn't you disappeared without a word after my test you would be officially invited. So the fault is yours."

"Well, I disappeared because I needed to buy your present for passing. Here." Kakashi handed her a present. She had already opened the ones from the others. After opening it she said: "Good, kunais. One can never have enough kunais.

Migeru had bought her kunais too. It was a basic gift because he didn't have time for something else, but the fact that Kakashi bought her kunais too, demonstrates that he didn't think much about her gift.

"They are heat-resisting kunais. You can flow your fire chakra through them without them melting or getting dull," said Kakashi.

_'Ok, perhaps he had put some thought in it...'_

The celebration ended early. Manami wanted to rest since she would talk to the Hokage by the morning. Little did she know that the Hokage had only some time earlier decided what to do with her.

The Hokage was having a meeting with the elders and the last topic was the shortening of anbu members to continuing the normal missions they would have and now the surveillance of the Uchiha compound.

The elder Homura said after a while of reflection: "And what about that girl Kaigan? She was able to win against an Anbu member."

"Manami?" Asked the Hokage, "since she came back she hasn't even gone on a regular mission. She isn't ready for the anbu."

Homura insisted: "She can be put on surveillance duty and when an easy mission appears you can send her." Elder Koharu stepped in the conversation in favor of Homura. That girl had promising capabilities and would surely be the Anbu of good use especially now that they are short on shinobis.

After some reflection, the Hokage gave in to them. "I will offer her a position in the anbu then but she has to lastly decide."

*****

The next day, Manami was early standing in front of the Hokage's office. She was nervous about what would happen next. Would she be finely sent to a mission? She was eager to prove herself after so much time training and to be honest she had become bored to always stay in Konoha.

After a while She heard the Hokage calling her in. As she entered he was behind his desk organizing some papers. She bowed before him as it was usual and waited for him to speak.

"Good to see you Manami. Congratulations again for your promotion, you have shown promising skills yesterday. I and the council were very impressed."

Manami was liking what she heard but knew that he wasn't finished. "You have yet to prove yourself on missions but I would nonetheless offer you a position in the Anbu. The last decision is yours to make of course but you have to know that the missions and discipline required of the members in the Anbu are more demanding. Of course, you won't be sent in the higher risk missions at first, but with time you will."

Manami didn't know what to say. The Anbu? Since she had heard about them she dreamed of being good enough to become an Anbu. But a girl's fantasy isn't always the best. She remembered the missions she had before departure. She was already a chunin at the time and the third shinobi war was about to begin. Those last missions were way more difficult with more bloodshed then before. But she could handle it. It has been a while since she killed someone but she had managed before, she would do it again. "Lord Hokage if you think I'm up for the task then I accept with honor. I have heard about the Anbu and understand that they are a special task force and I will give my best, even my life if needed to serve Konoha and the Land of fire."


	9. Mission goal: Assassination

Some weeks had passed since Manami began in the Anbu. She would mostly do surveillance of the Uchiha compound. She had no idea that the situation with them was so on edge. Sometimes she would do other missions, most of them were easy, only one time had it come to a fight but she and her partner had won. She had met other members of the anbu, some were fun to be around while others didn't speak much... But the most surprising was when she saw a teenager in the midst of it all. Itachi Uchiha had to observe his own family and friends. He must feel a conflict between his duty to his land and his family. But he seemed to handle it well. He was calm and very observant. His abilities must be unique since he came to the Anbu as a kid.

Manami would continue to train. She had mastered the manipulations of the light to form an image as she wanted. It worked like a genjutso but instead of manipulating the mind of a person, it would interfere with the light. This way it was impossible to break unless Manami would release it or lose concentration. Whenever she could she would visit her family and friends. Summarizing, she was quite busy.

Today she was called to the Hokage. Looked like he had a new mission for her. "Good morning Manami. From your last report of your abilities, you have talked about creating images of your liking. This will be very handy in this mission I have for you." The Hokage explained the mission to her. There is a man, Ezume Akamine, he is the son in law from a cousin of the feudal lord of the Land of Fire. Newfound evidence points to that he is using his wife's solidarity institution to deviate money to his own funds. His wife doesn't want to hear anything about it. She loves him and doesn't want to see the truth about her husband. That's why the cousin of the Feudal Lord turned to the Shinobi to take "care" of that man. The mission goal is to assassinate him without leaving any trail of evidence that he had been murdered.

Someone knocked at the door and the Hokage invited them in. It was Kakashi. "Good, you here." said the Hokage. "As I was saying to Manami, your target is this man (he showed them some photos). You are given a syringe with a poison that will stop his heart in about 20 minutes after it entered his bloodstream. It will look like a heart attack. Manami you are the one to fulfill this mission. Kakashi will be your backup in case you need it. You will need to stay undetected since his death can't be traced back to us or the feudal lord. Tomorrow night this man will attend a masked ball to raise funds for his wife's charity organization. You have here two invitations and are to depart today for a hotel near the location of the ball. Tomorrow there will be a carriage to transport you from the hotel to the ball and back. You have here the mission file with the rest of the details. Read them through and if you have any questions then ask before you go. You are dismissed." The two of them bowed and left the office.

"Hey Kakashi, good to see you. '' Manami hasn't seen much of Kakashi since she joined the Anbu. It seemed he had mission after mission and she missed to train with him (and being around him, to be honest).

"Good to see you too Manami" he greeted back. "What have you been up to lately? This is a big mission for us."

Manami's stomach made a flip. "Yes, it's my first mission like that. That's probably why you come with me so I don't screw things up."

"Don't say that. I have heard that you are making good progress. You will see that we will be successful." He gave her a closed eye smile to reassure his confidence in her. But that made her only become more nervous. He seemed so sure of her capabilities that she didn't want to disappoint him.

For the ball, they needed formal clothing and a mask. The items needed for any mission would be given by the Anbu's storage. Tere they had already prepared everything ( _'guess I don't have a chance to choose my dress')_ Manami went home to prepare everything for leaving. She read the mission file. They had to pose as a couple so they would share the same hotel room. She needed to go with civilian clothes to the hotel because no one could suspect them to be shinobis.

Later she passed by her parent's home to say goodbye as she always did before departure on a mission and now she was waiting for Kakashi to arrive. ( _'Why does he always have to be late? Even for a mission, he comes late_ ').

Finely Kakashi had arrived. He looked strange with normal clothes on. He was wearing jeans and a simple black t-shirt with a black headband over his Sharingan. Manami was wearing jeans too but had a dark blue tank-top on.

"Hey handsome, you looking good," Manami teased him.

Kakashi noticed earlier that Manami was nervous so he tried to distract her and teased her bach. "Thank you, had to look nice for my girlfriend."

 _'Girlfriend? Doesn't sound bad.'_ Manami felt her cheeks heat up with the embarrassment of her thoughts so she thought of a fast reply: "So you read the file, hum?"

"I don't read only Icha Icha you know."

They decided it would be best to run until they were near the hotel. When they were walking again Manami asked "It would be best if we choose an alias. How do you wanna call?"

"I don't know. Sukea maybe?"

Manami looked sideways to Kakashi and made a dubious face expression. Kakashi noticed that she didn't like it and asked her for a suggestion. "What about Tidus for you and Yuna for me?" He was ok with the names, they were short and easy to memorize.

Once they arrived in the hotel they made the check-in. To stay in character (at least that was what Manami assumed) Kakashi would put his hand on her waist or over her shoulder and that made her feel very self-conscious. He on the other hand looked calm so she tried to act natural as well. She was now on a mission and although it was completely different from what she did til now, she couldn't fail.

Their room had a queen-sized bed as it was expected. Kakashi being a gentleman says "You can sleep on the bed, I'm taking the floor." Manami didn't see what's the problem for them to sleep in the same bed "You know, the bed is very big. We can sleep both in it, as long as you stay on your side of the bed I'm ok with that."

In the morning they tried to keep up their disguise and visited the nearby city where the ball would occur. They analyzed the surroundings, getting to know the location in case they needed to escape. Back in their room in the afternoon, they went over the mission steps. Once they spotted the Ezume they would wait for an opportunity for Manami to vanish in the bathroom and come out unseen under the protection of her jutso.

"How exactly works that jutso" Kakashi wondered if she could really become invisible.

"I can show you" Manami stood before Kakashi and concentrated on the light that was falling on her. She didn't vanish in an instant, it was more like fading away. She began to lose color and soon one could see through her and afterward there was no sign of her. Kakashi uncovered his Sharingan and was surprised that even so, he couldn't detect her. "And you can move around like that?" Manami was expecting a question like that and shifted near Kakashi. "You tell me," she said right next to him. He was clearly startled by her being so close and that made her laugh and lose control over her jutso and was visible again. Kakashi was impressed "not bad, not even with the Sharingan I could detect you."

After that, they began to prepare themselves. Manami was putting her makeup on in the bedroom while Kakashi was shaving in the bathroom. When he came out of the bathroom he was already dressed in his navy blue suit and a usual mask. Manami was disappointed to not be able to see his face until now, but seeing him in a suit was not bad either, not bad at all. She went to the bathroom after him to dress herself. Her dress was all black, long skirt, the neckline round in the front, and the back had a deep V cut. It hugged her curves very well.

When she came out, Kakashi looked her up and down. He needed to clear his voice before speaking "I thought we were supposed to stay undetected. Don't think that you will pass unnoticed tonight." Manami blushed. She wasn't used to Kakashi being like this. "As long as no one follows me to the bathroom, I'm ok with turning heads while passing by." As she was reaching for her mask on the bed Kakashi checked out her ass _'Oh you will be turning heads tonight, for sure.'_

They arrived at the ball. There was a small line to get inside at the top of the stairs. Kakashi assumed again his role as boyfriend and guided Manami with his hand on the small of the back. His touch sent shivers up her spine but Manami needed to focus on the mission so she took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. One more like that and she felt calmer now.

Kakashi had noticed her reaction to his touch and was quite amused to see her embarrassed. He would stop with teasing her once they were inside because the mission was important. But then he felt her take a deep breath and her posture changed. Her eyes had now a hardness inside them and her small smile that she had on her lips disappeared. 'So this is her mission mode' thought Kakashi.

After showing their invitation they went into the ballroom. The hosts would only appear later so they had time to look around, search for the security, and the location of the exits. They went separate to talk to the other guests, try to gather information, and mingle. After a while, they came together to exchange what they found out. That's when the hosts appeared, their target and his wife. It was still early to get it done so Manami invited Kakashi to dance. From the dance floor, they had a good view of them.

When the pair separated Manami and Kakashi did too. Manami went to confirm her target's identity. She put on a smile to flirt with him. "Excuse me, Ezume Akamine?" He turned to her and smiled back. "Yes, and whit how have I the pleasure to speak?" "I'm Yuna Hamada. I just wanted to tell you how fortunate your wife must be to have you as her husband. She may be the head of this charity institution but she has to have you to help and support her." She flirted a bit more with him but had confirmed it was really him. Then she went back to Kakashi's side. "It's him. Shall I begin?"

Kakashi observed the room again but there was no reason to delay it more. He nodded affirmatively to Manami. She went to the bathroom making eye contact with the guards so they would see her entering the restroom. She made sure no one was there and started her jutsu. She watched in the mirror but couldn't see herself. _'Ok, showtime'_. She exited the restroom and went to her target. She was moving slowly to not touch anything or anyone but finely she was next to Ezume. The syringe was already on her hand. It would only need a little push on the skin for the venom to be injected into the bloodstream. So she pushed it right on his neck and moved immediately away. He went with his hand to his neck where she had stung him, but that was his only reaction.

 _'It was done'_ thought Manami. She headed back to the bathroom as fast as she dared while keeping control of her jutso. Again in the bathroom, she waited to be alone, only then she stopped the jutso becoming visible again. Once on the outside, she immediately saw Kakashi. "Is it done?" he asked seriously. She could only nod. They went near the exit but waited till the poison took effect. After a few more minutes Ezume Akamine took one hand to his breast like it was hurting him. His legs failed him and he fell to the ground, face down. His wife came running to him but once she had turned him to face her, his eyes were opened and he had no reaction, he was dead.

Kakashi had to guide Manami out. She couldn't take her eyes off of Ezume. Once outside Kakashi searched for their wagon to take them to the hotel before the commotion of Ezume's death became too big for them to leave unnoticed. Once in the wagon, Kakashi ordered the driver to go as fast as he could and so he did.

Manami was in a light shock. She had killed the man. No, not killed, she had killed before but it always was in a fight where it was her life or that of her enemy. But this was different. This was pure murder. The only way she could live with that was that if it wouldn't be her to kill that man, someone else would do it. In the end, the true murderer was who gave the order to kill him. But seeing the man go to the ground like that and his loving wife crying in desperation got under Manami's skin. And now with the adrenaline rush gone and that thought in her head, she entered in shock.

She was well aware of Kakashi in front of her, so before she lost it completely and began to cry, she tried to create an image of her in a normal pose in the hope Kakashi wouldn't notice it. But her concentration wasn't enough and her image came out distorted which caught Kakashi's attention immediately. He didn't understand at first what was happening, only when he leaned forward and touched Manami did he realize what was happening. He changed the place to sit next to her and embraced her. He caressed her head and tried to shush her.

Manami was crying. When Kakashi hugged her it only made it worse. She was trying not to but couldn't stop the river that seemed to stream out of her eyes. Kakashi didn't let her go although she tried to free herself from him. When she saw it was useless to fight off Kakashi she let him comfort her and soon calmed down. He hugged her for a while longer but in the end, he let her go and didn't say a word. He just stayed by her side until they got to the hotel.

They needed to stay that night in the hotel because of the appearances. Manami was first to go to the bathroom. She had a shower to calm herself and hoped she could go to sleep without Kakashi asking her what had happened. But she wasn't so lucky. He was waiting for her to come out of the bathroom to talk to her. "Are you better now?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm sorry for my outburst, it wasn't professional at all. It won't happen again," she assured.

"Was it your first time to kill someone?" Manami took a long breath and tried to explain why she lost control of her emotions. She asked him to not write it on his report because she could handle it, she could do more of such missions if necessary.

Kakashi understood her. Maybe it doesn't look like a big difference but it is. Killing someone in a fight or in cold blood can't be compared. He would respect her wish and wouldn't tell the Hokage, at least for now.


	10. Damn snake

After that assassination mission, Manami went more and more out on other missions and would be less in the surveillance of the Uchiha compound. She would mostly do infiltration missions alone or with one partner. Occasionally she would do support missions for the different teams. Itachi had now his own team and when Manami was sent on a mission with them she was impressed by him. So young and so strong... Being so busy as she was, she didn't even notice how time passed by and now she was already over one and a half years back in Konoha. In less than 2 weeks she would turn 21. She had asked the Hokage to give her some days off to that occasion which he granted, but before he needed her for one mission.

She was now with Migeru on the debriefing for their mission. The temple of light had been robbed of the sacred scroll that the founder of the temple himself had written. The thief is a religious fanatic Baron who had a private collection of such items in his castle and had also half an army to guard it. Their mission was to infiltrate the castle and retrieve the scroll.

On the same day, they departed. It was a two-day journey to arrive at the castle, good thing Migeru was fun to be around, it helped for the time to pass by faster. They had been tougher on many missions and understood each other without words which were fundamental to stay undetected. She could make them both invisible but to move she had to know where Migeru was, so he couldn't hide his chakra signature which could be detected by the enemy as well.

Once they arrived at the castle they observed. The castle had a big front yard and ended on a wall where the guards stood watch. They had to know how many soldiers there were when the guard would switch turns and where would be the best escape road. Once the outside was analyzed they began to search for the scroll. The plan inside was to move freely while no one was around. If they heard something, they stopped and Manami would make them invisible with her jutsu. It had worked before and was working now.

They had luck that the Baron liked to appreciate his treasures and didn't hide them away, but the difficulty was to find the scroll in the midst of all the artifacts and scrolls he had.

"Do you think if we take some of this stuff someone would pay us something for it?"

"Shhh" Manami quiet Migeru. The mission was only half over and they couldn't lose focus now.

They needed a while to find the scroll but in the end, they did it. They went out the same way they came in and they needed only to overcome the field before they reached the wall. Some guards were passing by forcing the two to hide and Manami to conceal them with her jutsu. But at the time the guards were right next to them, a snake made her way over Manami's leg and she was startled which made her lose control over her jutsu and the guards saw them. Migeru reacted quickly and killed them but it was too late. before they died they called out "intruders''.

Manami and Migeru had now to deal with the 14 guards that were posted on the wall and shortly there would be even more if they couldn't escape fast. Manami had already begun to prepare her geyser jutsu on the ground in front of them. She managed to take out at least 2 of them and inflict some burnings in others. Migeru had his katana already in hand and was prepared to fight against the first enemy to reach him. Manami mimicked him and began to fight too. They managed to kill the first ones to attack because they were separated from the others, but now the 8 guards left had surrounded them and would probably attack at the same time. Manami and Migeru stood back to back to help each other out. Since they were in a hurry to escape, they did the first move. Migeru stuck his katana on the ground and performed some hand signs, Manami began to slash their opponents in front of her and got separated from Migeru. When she looked back to him, she saw that he was surrounded by 5 men and in the background was an archer pointing an arrow at him. Manami panicked. There was no way Migeru could escape those 5 and evade the archer. She screamed for him to take cover, but with the sounds of battle, he could not hear her. She urged herself to go to his side, she was running as fast as she could with her chakra infused in her legs to move faster, but it wasn't enough. With this speed, she wouldn't be able to reach him in time. She needed to go faster, she needed more chakra... And then suddenly she became faster, or maybe the time went slower? It was as everyone moved in slow-motion. She could see every move clearly.

She reached one of Migeru's opponent and cut him through. It was a clean-cut from his right shoulder to his left hip, his blood spattered all over her but she continued as if nothing happened. She kicked the next one in the leg and broke his bone, he fell to the ground screaming before Manami would shut him up by slicing his throat. Moving forward she shot a kunai to the archer hitting him in the head. The next guard was in front of her and she pushed her katana right through his hart and it got stuck on his ribcage. It doesn't matter, she let go of the sword and got to her next victim who was running away. With a swift hand movement, she broke his neck and he fell to the ground. The other guard was now out of reach and she looked to Migeru. He was staring at her, his eyes were big and scared but at least he was safe. The rush she felted dimmed down and her legs began to shake and she ended with her knees on the ground. She had to cough and blood came out. Every fiber in her body seemed to hurt and she heard a ring in her ears and the vision began to dim before she blacked out complete...

Migeru had no time to lose. He picked up Manami and put her over his shoulder and ran as fast as he could. He ran until he couldn't anymore, only then he stopped and put Manami carefully down. She was breathing, that was a good sign. He ate a military ration pill to keep going. After picking Manami up again he searched for a place to rest some time and see what was wrong with her. He found a small cave and put Manami inside on a blanket. With some snatches, he covered the cave entrance. Finishing his task he looked after Manami. She was covered in blood and he didn't know if it was hers or not, so he took off her Anbu armor, and with a wet cloth, he cleaned her skin. While he was finishing she woke up and tried to get up. Migeru pushed her down "Hey take it slow, you don't want to pass out again." Manami was confused, the recent events hadn't reached her yet. "What happened?"

"What happened? You looked like death on the battlefield." Manami arched an eyebrow in confusion which made Migeru explain further. "I don't know what you did but you moved so fast that you looked like a blur. When you slowed down enough for me to see you, your eyes were all black, and a dark aura surrounded you. When you came near me it felt like my chakra was being sucked out of me."

The memory came back to Manami and she remembered what she did to their enemies. The way she had killed them, the blood that splashed on her, the expression of pure horror on their faces, all that was too much for her. She entered in shock. She looked at her clothes and they were stained with blood. She removed them to get rid of the blood. Migeru tried to calm her, to stop her but she wouldn't. "Stop Manami, what are you doing!?"

She collapses and Migeru holds on to her. His touch was a welcome distraction to her. Something different for her to feel than the desperation of the images she saw in front of her. She turned to him and kissed him. This felt even better. Migeru pushed back and looked her in the eyes. He wasn't sure what he saw in them before Manami resumed to kiss him again. He didn't have the strength to stop himself again. For ages he wanted to kiss her, to hold her like that and he just wasn't able to resist. He kissed her back with eagerness.

Manami needed more than kisses to forget about the earlier events. She began to remove Migeru's armor and after that, she continued with his shirt. She was already only in her sports bra since she had removed her bloodied shirt. She pushed Migeru back on the blanket and told him to remove his pants while she removed hers. Migeru hesitated, he knew that Manami wasn't in a good place, but seeing her only in her underwear made him lose his good sense and did as she told him.

She got over him, kissing his six-pack and moving upwards to his neck. To tease him she pressed her pelvis against his and rocked gently forth and back feeling how he got harder under her. He began to push her bra up but Manami needed to help since it was a sports bra and difficult to remove. As she was still sitting upright, Migeru came to sit too and sucked on her breast while Manami let her head drop backward.

With every touch of his, with every kiss she would feel better, the more she would forget the angst she felt just minutes ago, and the image of the massacre she had caused was fading too.

Manami pushed her partner back down and gripped on the waistband of his boxers to push them down. She didn't even bother to take off her own underpants, she pushed them only to the side and guided his shaft inside her. She wanted to feel the sweet release of climax and so she began to rock herself up and down. Migeru couldn't even turn his head around what was happening. He had wanted Manami for so long and now she was riding him so hard that he needed to focus to not come before her. He watched how her breasts rocked up and down with her movements, how her skin had a thin layer of sweat, and her facial expression when she became close to orgasm.

Manami was feeling she was close to finishing. She had her eyes closed only focusing on the feeling she was getting and when she came she felt her insides pulsating and her body trembling with the pleasure that overtook her. Right afterward Migeru finished too and she fell over him with exhaustion. He held on to her until she was asleep only then he moved to get some more blankets. Migeru laid down next to her and pushed the covers over them and soon afterward he fell asleep too with the woman he loved in his arms.

Some hours later Manami woke up first. She tried to move but couldn't and only then saw that Migeru was holding her. With her movements, he woke up too. "Good Morning beautiful" he smiled to her. _'Shit'_ Manami thought. She shouldn't have sex with him without clarifying that it was only sex. And by the smile on Migeru's face, this meant something for him. But there was no time for this, they needed to leave asap before they found them.

Manami got up as fast as she could and searched for her clothes to dress. Migeru, concerned about her, had forgotten about the mission. "We need to get going Migeru, we don't know if they are searching for us." He remembered now the situation they were in and began to dress too. Shortly after they left. While running they didn't talk, only when they were near Konoha they slowed down and Migeru spoke to her. "Manami I'm sorry about last night. I should have stopped you, you were clearly upset about what happened before." Manami didn't talk. She wanted to get this mission done and figure out what had happened to her. Her lungs still hurt while breathing and her muscles were all sore. It wasn't normal.

Migeru thought her silence was because she was upset so he wanted to confess his feelings for her so she would understand that he didn't want to take advantage of her but he just couldn't resist her. He stopped her and turned her around to face him. He put his hands on her face and looked her in the eyes "Manami I've been in love with you since we were kids, I wanted to kiss you for so long and last night I should have stopped I know, but I couldn't resist you. You are so beautiful, so strong and I was just weak. Can you forgive me?"

Manami knew he had read too much to it the way he smiled when they woke up, but she never had thought that he was in love with her for so long. That was too much for her now, she would handle this later. "Migeru I'm ok, don't worry. Let us talk later ok? I just want to end this mission and figure out what happened to me. Can you let that out of your report? I don't want to upset the Hokage until I know what I did." He nodded and they resumed their way home.


	11. Birthday party

Kakashi was in a hurry. He had a mission to go but before he would leave, he wanted to go to the smith to get Manami's gift. He had ordered a katana with water embedded in its hilt. He thought that maybe Manami could manipulate the water in the hilt and so if she would lose her katana she could move the water and the sword with it.

Manami... He hadn't seen her for some weeks now and hoped he would be back from this mission in time for her surprise birthday party that Genma was planning.

It had cost him some time but he had come to admit to himself that he liked Manami. He wasn't sure when it happened but most probably in that assassination mission when he held her while she was crying. She was so determined in the mission that it took him by surprise when she began to cry. She was so strong but still so fragile.

After that he hadn't seen her for some time and with the number of missions he had, his feelings for her were ignored, but when he saw her again in the village like a moth is attracted to the light he was attracted to her. That time when he spoke to her was the first time he felt his heart skip a beat when he made her laugh. Afterward every time he was in Konoha and she too he would go out only to see her and after some time he had concluded that he must have fallen for her.

Until now he didn't have a chance to speak to her about his feelings for her because they would never meet alone. But at her birthday when he would give her his gift, he would push her aside and confess to her. He was nervous only to think about it, but he couldn't continue like that.

* * *

Manami was meditating. She tried to remember every detail when she felt the rush of energy she had during the last mission with Migeru. Becas was sitting in her lap purring. This helped Manami to stay calm. She couldn't understand what had happened. Migeru said that he felt like his chakra was being drained. Did she drain the chakra of the others? It was a possibility. Could she do it again? Would she want to do it again? She had fainted and even coughed blood. Whatever had happened it took a toll on her body.

Migeru was searching for her but when he saw her meditate he didn't want to interrupt her, so he waited but not long. She had felt his presence and was standing up now. He wanted to resume their conversation from when they came home from the last mission. "Good morning Manami, I hope I'm not interrupting you."

"Good morning Migeru, don't worry, you're not." She smiled to reassure him.

He got really nervous but still managed to say: "Since you know how I feel about you I would like to invite you on a date. We would just have dinner together, walk a bit, and see what will happen. What do you say?"

Manami had thought about what he had confessed to her the other day. She didn't know what to think of that. She had never been in a relationship. In the other world, it was easy not getting involved whit someone because she had hoped to come back. But now that she was here, she needed to live a life. She liked to hang out with Migeru but she never thought of him more than a friend. Could it work? Could she fall in love with him? "You know what let's go out. I'm willing to try it out, but you can't rush me, ok? This is something new to me, going on a date." Migeru felt like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. He had a big smile on his lip and said he would pick her up later and with that he was gone.

After training to keep her occupied, Manami was taking a shower and would afterward get ready to go out with Migeru. She had to admit she was a bit nervous. It was her first date after all and didn't know what to expect. She put on a dress, nothing too revealing, and light makeup. She let her hair fall down, it had some light waves in it and was becoming too long for her liking. She made a mental note to get a haircut these days since she had some time off. Shortly after Migeru was ringing at her door and they went out.

They were on the esplanade of a nice restaurant. At first, the conversation was forced because of the nerves, but after a while (and a bit of wine) they were laughing together. After dessert Manami was so full she felt like she would explode. They walked around for a bit while continuing to talk and laugh together. It was a nice evening and when they were back at Manami's apartment door the conversation seemed not to end. Manami looked at her watch and said "It has become late, better I go inside before the neighbors complain about the noise we are making."

"Sure, I haven't even noticed how late it was." He put a lock of her hair behind her ear and asked "Can I kiss you?" Manami didn't think much, if she did the moment would probably pass and if she would be honest, she had loved this evening and did want a goodnight kiss. She nodded. Migeru held the side of her head with one hand and the other he put on her waist and pushed her to him. His lips were soft on hers like he was holding himself back, but then he deepened the kiss. He licked her lips like to ask for permission to enter, which she granted. They were involved for some time in the kiss, nothing else would exist around them, only the two of them mattered. When the kiss ended, Migeru leaned his forehead against hers and smiled. "This should have been our first kiss." He whispered. They said goodnight to each other and went home.

Manami closed the door behind her and was smiling. She didn't know why this night was different with Migeru then when she would hang out with him, but it definitely was. They already had a second date for tomorrow. It was a bit fast but being a shinobi they didn't know when the next mission would be so best was to enjoy the free time they had.

The second date was on the night before Manami's birthday and Migeru had brought her birthday gift to give her after midnight. This time they ate in a smaller restaurant and went to the movie theater afterward. It had been ages that Manami went to the theater and she had a great time with Migeru. The night was still young so they got ice cream and walked around town. Kurenai and Guy were coming back from a mission and saw the two, Guy was about to burst out a "hello you two" but Kurenai, knowing her friend stopped him before he would ruin the surprise for Manami "stop it Guy She can't know that we are back in time for her birthday" she said, but when she saw them hold and Migeru reached for a small box curiosity won and they observed the couple to see what happened.

It had passed midnight now and Migeru gave Manami's gift to her. He had told her he would be out on a mission the next day and Manami was sad because it seemed like everyone would be out on her birthday. When she opened his gift it was a bracelet with charms pendants. He helped her put it on and then Manami remembers something. "Is this the bracelet I saw in a market when we were on a mission?"

Migeru passed his hand through his hair and smiled. He had seen her look at the bracelet "it isn't the same but I thought it looked alike and hoped you would like it." "Yes I like it, thank you."

He kissed her and Kurenai had to hold Guy still or else he would give out their location. "Be quiet Guy or else I swear I force you to shut up." It was hard for Kurenai to stay still herself. She wanted to know if they were together and for how long and how it had happened. She was so excited about them. But as the kiss continued they became a little embarrassed at such a private moment and so they let the couple alone.

Manami was enjoying the kiss, Migeru was a good kisser. Her birthday was beginning well, but she didn't want to sleep with him tonight. If they would have a relationship she wanted first to figure out her feelings before making the next step.

She stopped the kiss and smiled at him "You know it's getting late and you should get some rest for your mission tomorrow."

"Right my mission... Can I bring you home?" They said goodbye at Manami's front door and Migeru left.

The next morning had come and Manami went on with her usual training. She would hold it short since it was her birthday and she wanted to buy something for her before going to celebrate with her parents and her brother's family. It was nice to be around them again. It had been a while since she had seen her niece and she was getting big. They were just ending dinner when someone knocked at the door. Her father went open the door and in came Genma. He greeted everyone and asked Manami if she could come with him. At first, she thought it had happened some emergency and the Hokage needed something from her so she excused herself to her family and went with Genma. Little did she know that her parents knew about her surprise party her friends had planned.

Once outside the house Manami showed her concern to Genma "what has happened Genma?"

He smiled to reassure her everything was alright. "Nothing happened, I just want to say happy birthday!" Manami rolled her eyes. "Now put this on." He gave her a blindfold and Manami just stared at him. "What's that for?"

He smiled wickedly "It's a surprise, now come on." Manami trusted Genma with her life so she went along and put the blindfold on. She hesitated when he told her he would carry her piggyback but in the end, she hopped on his back.

In her apartment where her friends waiting for her. Migeru was sitting on the couch alone, he didn't know the others well, he had only met them when hanging out with Manami. He only knew Genma a bit more but didn't trust complete his intentions towards Manami. And then there was the rumor about him and Manami having slept together and it bothered him. But he had been brought back when a green jumpsuit stood before him. "Hi my youthful friend, Migeru is your name right?" He nodded and was intrigued to see everyone coming closer to him. This time it was the red-eyed kunoichi to speak. "So what're your intentions towards Manami hum?" That caught him off guard. "What do you mean?" He asked, trying to evade the question. But Kurenai insisted "You know very well what I mean. Guy and I saw you two together last night." Migeru was now getting nervous. All those faces looking at him to hear his answer. "I like Manami and only want her to be happy, that's all."

Kurenai wanted to ask him more but Anko said that Genma was arriving with Manami and they needed to shut up. When Genma entered he put Manami down and said she could take off the blindfold. The first thing she saw was her friends saying "Happy birthday" and she almost didn't recognize her apartment. She was speechless. She really thought they would all be on missions, but only Kakashi was missing.

They talked a bit, mostly teasing Manami and Migeru (they were really nosy and wanted to know everything) but after Manami had enough and told them to back off, that it wasn't their business, they stopped. It had become a bit crowded and stuffy so Manami got out to the balcony to catch fresh air.

Kakashi had returned from his mission and was only taking a quick shower to go to the party. The fastest way to Manami's house led to the back of her apartment, the side where the balcony is, while the main entrance is located on the other side. Kakashi could already see Manami's balcony when she stepped outside. Kakashi's heart skipped a beat when he saw how beautiful she was in her floral dress. But then came her friend Migeru out too and what Kakashi saw next made him almost trip. Migeru hugged Manami from the back. She smiled and turned around to him and kissed him. Kakashi stopped in his track, mouth wide open. Where they together? It surely seemed so. He was about to jump to her balcony and enter that way, but now he went around and through the main door.

Someone was at the door knocking so Manami set herself free from Migeru and opened. Outside was Kakashi with one hand in his pocket and the other holding her gift. He looked relaxed as always so Manami had no idea in what turmoil his emotions were in and said "you're late to the party Kakashi."

"I know I'm late" ' _not only to the party but also to your heart as it seems_ ' "I'm sorry about that."

Manami looked at him curiously "What, no lame excuse this time?" She smiled at him because she wasn't mad and that smile just made Kakashi's heart bleed because she was taken now and wouldn't be his. But then he remembered, "I brought you a present." At this time Manami had already opened her gifts from the others so she opened his as well. It was a simple Katana but she could see it had good quality.

Kakashi was observing her. It seemed she liked it. "There is water in its hilt, I thought maybe you could move it with your abilities." "Sweet, I will try it first thing in the morning. Now go and eat something, there is cake too, serve yourself".

The party went on for a bit longer until there were only Manami and Migeru left. He helped her clean everything. They sit on the couch once all was taken care of.

"Boy am I tired," said Manami. Migeru pulled her closer to him and began to peck her cheeks. "So did you like your birthday? I'm sorry I have lied to you that I would be on a mission but Genma had already..." He explained but Manami cut him short "it's ok Migeru I liked it. I had time for me, to be with my family and my friends so it was a perfect day."

"And where do I belong? To the friends?" he asked with the porpoise to find out where they were headed.

For Manami, it was too early for naming their relationship "special friend for now, and please don't take it the wrong way."

He didn't. He had waited for her this long he could wait for more if needed. They said goodbye and Migeru went home.


	12. When all went downhill

Manami was just getting back from a mission and was taking a long warm shower to relax and wash all the dirt and blood off. It had been another mission with Migeru, it seemed almost as if the Hokage knew they were together and would always send the two lately.

She had trouble falling asleep, she was too tired and her mind didn't give rest. She was thinking about her relationship with Migeru. At first, it was sweet, they would share kisses and hang out together, and she even slept with him although she was hesitant at first, but at the time she was taken by desire and didn't want to wait longer. But what bothered her was that on the missions Migeru always wanted to hold hands and kiss instead of concentrating on the task they had.

And then was that Manami didn't feel like she was in love. She liked him but didn't have the feelings as described in some songs or poems. Maybe this wasn't working. She needed some space or even to break up completely. When she fell asleep it was already early morning so She let herself sleep in.

She was still eating breakfast when someone knocked at her door. It was Izumo with a message that she had to report right now to the Hokage. She dressed her Anbu uniform, put the rest of her toast in her mouth, the dishes in the sink, and stormed out. Such a summoning could only mean an emergency so she speeded to get to the Hokage's tower. Once there, the Hokage called her in and when she was about to close the door, Migeru arrived as well.

"Good you're both here," the Hokage said in a serious tone. "I have an urgent mission for you. I know you have only arrived yesterday from a mission but at the moment there is no one else I can send and this can't wait.

Our intelligence unit has intercepted a transmission from the land of silk that they are about to transfer a prisoner. That prisoner is one of our Anbu division that was captured almost a year ago. You are to go ahead and observe until Kakashi's team arrives. They should be on their way home from another mission and I have sent a message for them to join you. If you leave in the next half hour you should arrive first, but only engage in battle if you are sure to survive. I want to save our shinobi but not at the cost of another." The Hokage looked at them in concern. Manami thought that he had become old to handle so much stress... He continued: "If you don't have any questions then you're dismissed."

The two shinobi left the office of their superior and went home to make preparations to leave.

Sometime later, Kakashi was with his team making a break before heading home. But then a falcon arrived with a message for Kakashi. "Sorry to bring this to you guys, but we have another mission." There was no complaining from his team. They were all proud to be members of the Anbu and their lives committed to serving Konoha so they would do whatever they needed, especially to save a college. After Kakashi explained to them what this new mission would be, they headed out to the land of silk.

 _'Of all people, why does it have to be Manami and Migeru for this mission.'_ Kakashi was avoiding her since her birthday party. He stopped going out for some time but he had come to enjoy the company of his friends so he would only meet them when Manami was on a mission. But after weeks of successfully avoiding her, he had to stumble against her...

*** Flashback ***

Kakashi was reading his book when he was on his way to meet Guy. He was on a special spicy part of the story and completely emerged. He didn't even notice her presents. Manami had seen him with his nose in the book and wanted to tease him. She hadn't seen him for a while and wanted to know if everything was ok. So she put herself in his way and waited for him to stumble against her.

"Hey watch out were you walking." Kakashi, hearing her voice looked immediately up. _'shit it's her._ ' He gave her a closed eye smile and scratched his neck while putting away his book. "Sorry didn't even see you."

"You know, I envy you." That statement of Manami made him curious and forgotten were his intentions to just say goodbye and leave... "Why?"

"How many times have you read that story? I bet more than ten times, right? And still, you can immerse yourself in the story and forget where you are. I love a good story. It doesn't matter if it's a book, movie, or even game, but once I finish it, I can't go back."

Kakashi chuckled.he couldn't resist teasing her. "Maybe you should read this book and you will be hooked too."

Manami put on a big smile. "Oh, I have read it. It's a nice story but I have read better... and nastier." She grinned at his expression that looked like he had his mouth open. Before he could recover and come up with a response, she was already saying goodbye.

*** End of flashback***

Kakashi was shaking his head and smiling just from that memory. He pushed forward to increase the team's speed and hoped nothing bad would happen to her before they arrived.

When Manami reached the gate Migeru was already there. He kissed her. "Migeru this will be a complicated mission, best is if we focus on it." Manami wanted to let him know this was a serious mission and she didn't want him to be all over her. Earlier she had decided to end things with him when they came back so she didn't want to share much affection with him. "Yes, you're right. Let this be our last kiss for today." He kissed her softly. It was almost too sweet for Manami to bear because of her thoughts. But afterward, they headed out and her feelings were put aside.

Manami and Migeru had arrived at the location marked on the map. It was near a forest so they stayed hidden behind the trees. No one was around so they waited.

"So someone did hear our transmission, hum? And they sent only you two?" A voice behind them boomed. They got out of their hideout into the open field and got ready for a fight because there were now over 10 shinobis. Their headband had the symbol of a key, they were from Jomae village.

 _'This isn't good, we are way outnumbered'_ They needed to gain time for Kakashi's team to reach them. Manami prayed he wouldn't take long.

"Where is our friend?" She asked. The one who spoke before answering her. "You are dumber than you look, aren't you? He died a long time ago. He was tortured for information and didn't make it out alive. That is what's going to happen to you too."

She had figured that much that this was a setup but he seemed sure of himself, possibly it wouldn't be difficult to make him talk further. "So you have tricked us? Tricked our intelligence?"

"Of course we did. It wasn't difficult. You from Konoha think you're so smart but you are just idiots."

"Why, why would you do that?"

"Because we can and if you spill some secrets we gain an advantage."

"If we surrender can you promise not to kill us?"

He smiled wickedly, "So now there are cowards in the Anbu?"

"No not cowards, but we are clearly outnumbered and I can't see a way to escape so surrender is the more logical step to take." She unsheathed her katana (the one she received from Kakashi) and launched to his feet.

They couldn't stall for more time. Best they attacked first and tried to kill as many as they could. Manami had already prepared everything for her geyser jutsu, it only needed to be released. She made a signal to Migeru and started the attack. Her enemies were taken by surprise and some were killed with the burning water. She called the water in the hilt of her Katana bringing the sword to her and then they used the confusion to slash at however they would get in front of them, but soon the enemy had gained focus again, they were shinobis after all. "Kill the guy but I want the Kunoichi alive!"

Considering the situation they were in, they were holding relatively well until Manami got a deep cut to her left upper arm. Migeru saw this and got desperate to help her and that was his doom. Because of his haste to help her, he didn't see an enemy behind him. Manami looked in shock at how a shinobi pushed down his sword on Migeru's back. His blood spilled in all directions. She cried out "NO!". With desperation to help him, she called on her chakra, and once again she felt a rush of energy flowing through her body. The world began to move in slow-motion and with a battle cry she launched herself against the enemy behind Migeru. Before he fell on the ground, She was stabbing down the shinobi behind him. Her next victim was right behind and she cut off his head. Letting her katana fall to the ground she made some hand signs and sent fireball missiles to the enemies shinobis. She hit 2 and they went up in flames screaming. She looked back at Migeru on the ground and saw how his blood was streaming out of the deep cut on his back, and how he was no longer moving. Her eyes began to hurt and she felt some thick liquid run down her cheeks. Her vision had changed. It was a bit blurry but she could still see. Only 3 more opponents were standing and began to see that they had no way to win. They wanted to flee, but Manami wouldn't allow them. She had no weapon in hand but it doesn't matter. She called on the wind to slash at the back of one, the second she opened a hole in the earth and as soon he fell inside, she pressed the soil burying the man alive. Finely the last one, the one who was talking before, she jumped on top of him, looking in his eyes as she pressed her hand in his chest and ripped out his heart.

*** Some moments earlier***

Kakashi was pushing his team forward. They were almost at the spot. It should be right at the end of this forest. Then he heard a distant scream. His heart stopped. It was Manami and she sounded desperate. He speeded up even more leaving his team behind. He needed to help her. He could already see the end of the forest and then he saw the bloodshed that a dark figure was causing. It took him some time to figure out it was Manami. Her hair was fluttering in the air. When she moved he could only see her because of his Sharingan. She had like a dark aura around her and when she stood over that shinobi how she just ripped out his heart, Kakashi could see her black eyes. No, they weren't completely black. As he came nearer to her he could see some white pattern. It looked like a Sharingan. A black and white Sharingan...

Manami looked up and saw Kakashi running to her. She let the chakra leave her body feeling the exhaustion washing over her. She wanted to reach Migeru to see how he was, but her legs couldn't carry her anymore. She fell to the ground and passed out.


	13. Past, present and the future?

Manami was drifting in and out of consciousness. She felt that she was being carried by someone. One time she could focus enough to see some fluffy grey hair in front of her. Later she woke up on a hospital stretcher with some medic-nin over her.

She saw a green light and felt a warmth flowing through her body.

"What is her estate?" She heard Kakashi asking.

"Her inner organs are damaged and I have no idea how that could have happened. It's like her cells ruptured." One of the medic answers. "But she will fully recover."

Kakashi left then. Being the captain he had to report to the Hokage but he needed to be sure Manami would be ok. Seeing her in the estate she was in when he reached her scared the hell out of him. Her Sharingan, or whatever that was, must be awakened when Migeru was killed. Kakashi never wanted for such a thing to happen. He was a colleague and has given his life on duty, but he couldn't shut up the little voice in his head that was happy about Manami being single again and he hated himself because of that.

Kakashi didn't know exactly what happened but he saw the key symbol on the headband on the bodies and no sign of the kidnapped Anbu member. One thing was off though. The grass and flowers around the fighting ground where all withered and he remembered his chakra being drained when he came near Manami. Was she responsible for that? Could she absorb chakra not only from people but also from plants?

He made his report to the Hokage and Manami's capabilities made him think. He had heard many years ago of a clan with a Kekkei Genkai that could assimilate someone's chakra to their own but even for the members was rare to drain without a touch. He would order someone to look in Manami's ancestry and in the history of that clan. Maybe they could find something.

The next day Manami was released from the hospital. She couldn't believe that Migeru was dead. It was his funeral and she felt so bad because his family treated her like she was part of it. Migeru's big brother, who she had met only that day, called her little sister. She didn't even know them so Migeru must have shown a photo of her or something. If it wouldn't be disrespectful she would leave the ceremony only to avoid the look of pity the people gave her. She felt she had no right to be pitted because she was about to end things with Migeru. After the ceremonies, she went home and wanted to be alone for a while. Seeing friends die was part of being a shinobi and it was the worst.

* * *

Some days had passed when she was called to the Hokage. She had made her report to fill in the blanks of Kakashi's. She was surprised when the third told her he had looked in her family three if one of her ancestors was from an extinct clan. But she was even more surprised when the Hokage told her that she had eyes that resembled a Sharingan, only black and white. Now at his office, he took out a file. "We have found something interesting that could explain your capabilities. I don't have time to tell you so here is the file. I think you should read it." Manami was curious so the first thing she did when she arrived home was reading that file.

The Suu clan was known for its members having the Kekkei Genkai of absorbing the chakra of others. Some members could even do it without touching. That clan wasn't on good terms with the Uchiha. The last head of the family had a daughter who fell in love with an Uchiha. It is believed that the two left their respective clans and married, but there is no evidence for that.

The DNA of Manami Kaigan was compared to some samples from members of the Uchiha and the results show some matches, indicating that they have common ancestors.

'An Uchiha and one of these Suu members. Could they be my ancestors?' If that was true that could explain her abilities. Her black Sharingan could be the result of the diluted Uchiha blood or the mixing of these two clans. Could she activate it?

Manami stood before her mirror. She transferred some chakra to her eyes. They become black with three white dots. 'So it's true. I really have a black Sharingan.' She wanted to know more about the Sharingan, but since the situation with the Uchiha was on edge, she couldn't know how they would react to her different Sharingan and not being an Uchiha. Could she ask Itachi? When she could find him she would.

* * *

Some time had passed and the Hokage was in an emergency meeting with the elders. Danzou was there too because of the delicate situation. There was a group of shinobi, most of them were outlaws. They called themselves as freelancers because they were accepting contracts like the hidden villages. Every contract they would sign was one less for the hidden villages. It was not only a problem for Konoha, but since the group was located in the land of fire they were mostly their responsibility. The leader was killed by the Anbu but in a short time, they had a new one. That had happened already twice. It was necessary for some other approach.

Danzou had come to word: "We need someone to infiltrate the group and inform us how they operate. We need to know how they work if there is a leader hidden behind an imposter or a council who chooses a new leader. Only then we can work towards taking the whole group down."

The Hokage thought about what Danzou had said. Knowing him well, he probably already had a plan. But since Danzou didn't explain it right away he had a feeling that he wouldn't like it. "What do you have in mind?"

"Someone has to infiltrate that group so we can fight it from the inside. I have heard you have a specialist in infiltration in the Anbu with unseen capabilities." Manami had caught Danzou's attention on her last mission, especially her strange Sharingan...

For the Hokage was clear that he was talking about her. "The Kunoichi you talking about has already endured a mission for 8 years away from her home. I don't want to send her once again away from Konoha."

"I can't see another solution. If you have another one I would gladly accept it." Danzou responded.

* * *

After Migeru's death, Manami was sent on more simpler missions than before, but she needed something to distract herself so she asked for more difficult ones. When she wasn't on missions she would train. Sadly she never seemed to find Itachy to ask him about the Sharingan. She also preferred to stay to herself for a while then to confront the pitiful eyes of her friends.

About two months after Migeru's death, she was once again in the Hokage's office and he had a serious expression (well, more serious than usual). This would be a complicated mission Manami thought.

"I have a mission for you but I don't want for you to feel pressured to accept it." He explained the situation with the group called freelancers and continued saying: "you would infiltrate in that group and gain their trust. You would keep us informed and when an opportunity would present itself we would take them out." 'that sounds simple enough.' But the Hokage wasn't finished yet. "You would need to leave Konoha. You would need to desert and would be considered a missing-nin..."

"Oh, I see" was all Manami could say. The Hokage continued "but you would come back. As long as you don't commit crimes against Konoha or the land of fire you can be pardoned. You would be no longer than 3 years away. But as I said, think this through and give me an answer when you are ready. I don't want to force you after all you have already sacrificed for your country."

Manami left his office without knowing what to do. Would she accept the mission and stay away from her family and friends again? They would think she was a deserter. And what would happen if she didn't accept? If someone died because she didn't accept this mission could she live with herself?


	14. Point of no return

"I accept the mission, I will take down that group."

Manami had made her decision. It wasn't easy but if her ninja way was to be lonely to serve her land, then so be it. She would accept to desert and be considered a missing-nin but, "but I have some conditions."

The Hokage lifted an eyebrow, curious what her conditions were. "I want a written contract that I am about to dessert because it is needed to conclude a mission, and foreseen in 3 years I'm about to come back and be pardoned. It's not like I don't trust you but what if something happens to you and in 3 years Konoha has a new Hokage that doesn't know about our arrangement? I need some guarantees. Then, I want my parents to know the truth, that I'm not deserting but following orders. They thought that I died and now I don't want them to believe I abandoned them. And I want permission to visit them from time to time."

The Hokage didn't want Manami to do this but to be honest, he was relieved she accepted. She was the best for this job after all. Her conditions were reasonable and wouldn't interfere with the mission, so he accepted them.

After writing the contract and signing it, the Hokage said: "you don't have a time limit to leave, but the sooner the better. And you need to convince people that you deserted or else it could be suspicious. Once you're on your own, you will need to get the attention from the freelancers, I would suggest you become a bounty hunter, that should do it. I will leave you this scroll. Through it, you can communicate with me. I have one identical and they are connected. Everything you write on it, it's visible on my scroll for about 10 minutes and vise versa. If you need anything from me please don't hesitate to ask. And I don't need to say that this is a top-secret mission, no word to anyone."

For Manami was clear she only needed to convince one person, her best friend. If Genma would believe she left, the others would believe too. A plan began to form in her mind. She would need to "bump" into Genma late at night or early in the morning. Best if he would be on guard duty then she would know his schedule.

After some days of planning and rehearsing what she would say, she said goodbye to her parents and prepared everything for the night and next day. The Hokage had ordered Genma to do Gate watch and he should be almost done. Manami needed to get prepared for her plan.

Her clothes were very revealing. She had a mini skirt on and a blouse with a deep cleavage. She let her hair fall over her back and put on a full makeup only to smear it right afterward. _'Now the difficult part'_. She took a deep breath and prepared herself for what she was about to do. She hit her head hard against the corner of her kitchen cabinet. "Au, fuck" she cursed, blood coming out of her wound on her head. She needed to clench her teeth so the river of swear words wouldn't come out. ' _Almost done_.' To end her preparations, she ripped her tights and evaluated her state in the mirror. She needed to cry so her eyes would be puffy. With her head still hurting it wasn't that difficult. Now she was ready to leave her house. She took with her a little bottle of vodka for the smell of alcohol...

Genma was done with his shift. Why the heck did he need to do gate watch? Whatever, important was that he was going home now. When he turned a corner, someone bumped into him. A smell of alcohol reached his nose. "Oh, I'm sorry I..." When he saw it was Manami and the estate she was in, he couldn't finish his sentence. " Are you ok? What happened to you?" He was very concerned about her, after Migeru's death Manami had shut out practically everyone. Even he had only seen her a couple of times the past month.

"I'm ok, I wasn't looking where I was going, sorry." She was about to continue her way but Genma made her stop. He saw her outfit, smelled the alcohol on her and the wound on her head was caused recently. It was early in the morning and for her to look like that meant she had been out the whole night.

"Have you been attacked or has someone abused you?" He said with concern.

"I said I'm ok will you let me go now." Genma was everything but convinced.

"Manami you look like you went through hell and that wound on your head... And lately you act differently than before. You can trust me, I want to help you."

Manami snapped. With tears in her eyes, she screamed at him. "Leave me alone Genma. Only because we slept together doesn't mean you know everything about me. Now let me go."

Genma wasn't expecting a reaction like that. Something had happened that was clear, but Manami was now too upset so he would let her go and would later look after her.

Kakashi, who was coming back from a mission, saw part of the discussion of them. Concerned about the wellbeing of Manami, he went to talk to Genma. "Hey, Genma. What was that about?"

Genma sighed. "I have no idea. Manami can be very stubborn sometimes. Best she sleeps now and later I will look after her."

"You two just argued, maybe if I would talk to her she would react more calmly?" Genma thought about it, and it made sense.

"Would probably be the best. But I suggest letting her sleep. She will likely practice later to calm her nerves. That would be the best time to talk to her."

Manami was showering, her wound burned with the water. The first part was over. Looked like Genma got the bait to think she was attacked, right what she pretended. Hopefully, he would search for her later when she would be training. With a headache, she went to bed and tried to get some rest, but it was difficult since this would probably be her last night in her bed for the next 3 years, at least.

The next day she got up, ate breakfast (more like brunch since it was almost noon), and made her ready to leave. She wouldn't be training on her usual spot near her parent's home, instead, she chooses an empty training ground. That would give her more time because Genma needed to search her. After a warm-up, she picked a tree trunk to punch. She let out all her rage that she felt because she had to go on this mission and soon her bare hands were all scraped.

She was watchful of her surroundings and felt someone's approach. _'Just what I was waiting for.'_ She let herself sink to the ground and curled herself up and began to cry.

A hand pulled her softly to a muscular chest, she looked up and was surprised to see Kakashi instead of Genma. Good thing that her hesitation could be seen as an embarrassment and not that she was expecting someone else.

"Hey, it's okay I'm here for you." Kakashi pulled her again against him and caressed her head. After she calmed down he took her hands in his and looked at the scratches she had on them. "Best if we clean that up. do you have a medical kit?"

Manami had one but it wouldn't be in her favor to go to her house, so she shook her head 'no'.

Kakashi had one at home so they went to his place.

It was the first time for Manami to see his home. It was a relatively small apartment, the furniture and decoration was kept at a minimum. Kakashi made her sit on the couch while he got the first aid kit. He took off his forehead protector to expose his Sharingan to make sure he wouldn't miss any splinter in her hand. Manami was observing him. ' _Why was he there on the training field and didn't even ask why I was crying. He just comforted me and now he is taking care of me.'_ Manami was puzzled but the pain in her hand when Kakashi was trying to pull out a splinter that was under her skin brought her back. She needed to adjust her plan to the new situation, how would she do it.

Her hands were now clean and covered up. "Thank you. I'm sorry for the trouble I caused you."

Kakashi wanted, no, he needed to know what had happened to her last night. He swore that if she was hurt by someone, he would kill that person. "I saw your argument with Genma in the early morning. What happened to you?"

' _He saw that? Good, then my original plan will still work_.' "I'm so ashamed, was Genma mad at me?" She asked innocently.

"Mad? No, he was worried. As am I. Did someone hurt you?"

"No, that's not it. I..." She paused for dramatization. "I was out last night. I had enough of being at home alone. I was at a bar drinking to forget about..." She stopped in searching for words.

"I see. It's normal you want to forget, it hasn't passed that much time since Migeru died." Kakashi thought that was it, but Manami shook her head.

"No, it's not like that. You know, I was about to end things with Migeru after that mission."

He was surprised to hear that but said nothing.

"But then he died. And his family treated me like I was part of them, and it makes me feel like an impostor. I don't even want to be with you guys because you act differently too. I'm tired of being here in Konoha, it's like I can't go anywhere without people to know me and think they know my pain."

"They act like that because they care about you, I care about you. That's why I want to know what happened to your head."

Manami hesitates but then answers "I was so drunk when I was leaving the bar that I fell asleep in an alley and I must have hit my head. When Genma approached me I was so embarrassed and frustrated that I yelled at him, and now I feel so bad. I hurt my best friend. I'm such a loser."

Manami hides her face in false embarrassment. Kakashi had finally understood (at least he thought he did) what had happened and he had no idea that she felt that way. "Manami, you're not a loser. You are a strong, intelligent, and sensible woman. It is normal to feel like that, but you can't let those feelings get the better of you. You need to move on."

"And how can I move on when I can't go anywhere unless I go on missions? I need to be on my own, away from everything and everyone." The last sentence she said only in a whisper like she was talking to herself, but Kakashi had heard it.

He put his hands on her cheeks and forced her to face him. "Don't say that. Everything will be good." He looked her deep in the eyes, his mismatched eyes seemed to be looking in her soul. They were so deep and had a warmth that drew Manami in. They stayed like this, facing each other for only some seconds, but it seemed like an eternity. Then his eyes jumped to her mouth, only for a fraction of a second, but it was enough to reveal his intentions. He wanted to kiss her so badly. Her red lips slightly apart were asking him to do it, but his mask was in the way. It was probably one of the first times he hated to have his mask on.

Manami was used to read facial expressions and the little slide of his didn't pass unnoticed to her. She lifted her hand and put it on his cheek, as he did to her. Her fingers slide under the edges of his mask. She looked him back in the eyes to ask for permission. Normally she would respect his privacy and never asked him to take off his mask or something like that, but now, she would be lying if she said she wasn't curious about his face.

The smallest nod from him was enough for her to understand. Slowly she pushed his mask down. If he would regret it, he could stop her. But he didn't.

While the mask came down, his face was revealed. Manami was speechless. He had no reason to hide his face, he was beautiful. Kakashi didn't waste time, he got closer to her and she mimicked his moves until their lips touched.

Kakashi's lips were soft and hungry for hers. Manami soon forgot about her purpose and immersed herself in the sensation Kakashi was giving her. One hand of her was lost in his hair, the other exploring his body (at least what was possible through his ninja outfit). On the other hand, Kakashi could explore more. Through the thin fabric of her clothes, he could feel her muscles. Her light perfume filled up his nostrils and her lips moving in the same rhythm as his was driving him crazy, a feeling shared by Manami as well. Her body had assumed the lead and she quickly moved one leg over Kakashi and sat on his lap. She began to kiss and lick his neck until she heard Kakashi take a quick inhale. She bites softly down on that spot. She pressed her hips harder on his lap and could feel him becoming hard with her touch. She reached for the zipper on his west but Kakashi stopped her.

It took all of his willpower to stop her, but this is not what he wanted. Manami wasn't in a good place and he wouldn't take advantage of her. He wanted her but not for a one night stand. He cared too much about her for that. "Manami I'm sorry but it's for the best if we stop this."

Manami sat back to her spot, remembering her mission. What was she doing? She couldn't lose control like that, but with a man like Kakashi, it was a bit difficult to stay focused... "Yes, you're right. I should go, I have taken far too much time off of you."

"Of course not. You are important to me so it was nothing."

_'Did he say important? Does he mean as a friend or something more? Well, it doesn't matter anyway, by tomorrow he is going to hate me.'_

She thanked him once more and went home.

She had written goodbye letters for her parents and Genma. She needed to change the one for Genma and best would be writing one for Kakashi as well.

_Dear Kakashi,_

_Thank you for patching me up and listening to me, but I still need to go. This town and its people are suffocating me. I know you won't understand it but I hope you can forgive me one day._

_Your friend_

_Manami_ _._

_Dear_ _Genma_

_I'm so sorry for screaming at you. I wasn't hurt by someone the other day, I was just clumsy and ashamed to tell you. For some time now I'm not feeling well here and I need to leave. I love you, you're my best friend and I hope you can forgive me._

_Manami_

She put the letters in an envelope and left them on her desk. She meditated for some time to gather her chakra. After being satisfied she created 4 clones and sent them in different directions to leave Konoha.

The next morning Kakashi was in a meeting with the Hokage when someone knocked at his door. It was Genma "I'm sorry lord Hokage but I have urgent news. I was at Manami's place and she wasn't there. I found some letters, one of them for me. I think she might have left Konoha..."

Kakashi recalled the events of the day before and resumed them for the Hokage. He sent them to Manami's apartment and to find her. The Hokage knew that her plan had counted on someone finding out she would leave and that they would follow her, so he had no problem sending them there.

Kakashi summoned his ninken and let them find Manami's trail. They began to search her apartment for any clue she might have left. Genma turned to Kakashi and asked: "What happened yesterday, what did she say to you?" Kakashi told him everything (almost everything, the part where they kissed he didn't). "I knew she wasn't ok but I never thought it would come to this."

Pakkun was back and said they had found 4 trails, the others had already followed them. It might seem a good idea to create clones to evade and confuse someone, but with the reduced chakra, it was difficult to run, because the speed would be compromised.

Kakashi and Genma were about to create a clone to follow Manami when one of the ninken gave a signal to Pakkun. It was Shiba and it seemed that he had found blood from Manami on his trail. "That must be her then, clones don't bleed..." Kakashi speeded in the direction Shiba was.

Soon Kakashi had caught up with her but she was not about to slow down. He didn't want to force her so he screamed "Manami, please stop. Don't force me to stop you." She only took some more steps when she came to a hold.

"Please, let me go." She pleaded.

"I can't. Not like this. I understand that you need some time off but you can ask for a leave."

"You know exactly how the situation is right now. When was the last time you had more than one day to rest before another mission?"

She was right. There has been some shortage of anbu-members to handle all missions.

"See, the Hokage wouldn't grant me a leave right now, as he didn't the last couple of months. I have asked before. I only would get one or two days and couldn't even leave Konoha. I need some time on my own. Please let me go."

"I can't."

"Then will you fight me?"

"If I need to." Kakashi didn't want to come to that, but if it meant for her to stay, he would use force.

Manami drew a kunai at Kakashi and began to run. Kakashi evaded her throw and ran after her. She moved the earth behind her to create obstacles for Kakashi but he easily evaded her. He made some hand signs and a mud wall appeared before her. Since she was focusing on the path behind her, she ran against the wall and fell to the ground. Kakashi held some steps behind her.

"You have quartered your chakra, there is no way you could win me or outrun. Please come with me, I don't want to hurt you."

"I don't want to hurt you too Kakashi. And I am sorry for causing you such distress. I'm only searching for peace of mind. I promise someday I'm coming back."

Kakashi was puzzled. Did she really think she could escape him? Then Manami took another kunai but didn't throw at him. "You know, I'm only a clone. The real Manami is now long gone." She stabbed herself, and with a poof, the clone was gone, only a flask of blood stayed back.

Manami was already far away from Konoha. After creating her clones, she gave to one of them a flask with a little blood of hers. The clone would use it to trick her followers that it was her. She then teleported herself to a tunnel that she had created some days ago. The tunnel led to the river with a raft ready for her to go downriver. After some time she left the stream and went on by foot. That was when the memories of her clone hit her. Kakashi was before her with an expression that could be described as sad, disappointed, and angry. It hurt Manami to see him like that. She dropped to the ground crying. She was once again alone. Behind her, she heard a rustle and when she looked, Becas came out of the undergrowth. "I can't believe you would let me once again behind," Becas said in a false angry voice. Manami juckled. Maybe she wasn't so alone after all.


	15. Bringing down Freelancers

Saying Kakashi was disappointed when Manami was classified as missing-nin was an understatement, he still couldn't believe that she was gone. He replayed the events of when he comforted her and when she left again and again in his head. He should have done more to help her, maybe if he had confessed his feelings for her she would have stayed. But now it doesn't matter anymore. The only thing he could do was find her and bring her back. He would bring her back, he promised himself he would.

Then, not even two months later another tragedy occurred. Itachi slaughters his entire clan, leaving only his younger brother, Sasuke, alive. It was another stab in Kakashi's back because Itachi was like his pupil and he had trusted him. And now the cherry on top was that the Hokage cast him out of the Anbu and wanted him to become a Sensei. It felt like degradation. He shut himself up from his friends.

He was testing now the first group of kids if they were to become genins. He couldn't make a mistake and misjudge them as he did with Itachi and Manami. He needed to be sure these three would honor their friendship and care about teamwork. But it was clear these three didn't have the qualities he was searching for, so he failed them.

Later news from Manami reached Konoha. She was making a name as a bounty hunter. She had taken out some high ranked criminals and was beginning to be known as the beauty with the black Sharingan. Rumors about her joining the group of freelancers made Kakashi become desperate. One thing was her being a deserter, the other was she being with a known criminal organization. Kakashi only hoped these rumors weren't true.

* * *

Manami was brought for the first time to the freelancer's headquarter. She had worked for them for some months now. She remembered how the charismatic leader approached her one day.

*** Flashback ***

Manami had killed her bounty. _'Shit, alive he would be more worthy, but he was such an asshole that I couldn't hold back.'_

"Impressive, that was Mitsuteru wasn't he? I think he was an A-Rank criminal?" A good looking man, maybe 4 years older than Manami, stood some meters away from her. He didn't look like he would attack, but Manami was still alert.

"Yes, he was. He also was a pain in the ass... And who are you? If you are here to steal my bounty then you can try."

"Oh, I'm sorry, where are my manners. I'm Seishiro Hosokawa. I have no interest in your bounty, no, my interest is full on you. Your name 'Beauty with the black Sharingan' is really fitting for you."

"Ok, so Seishiro Hosokawa, what do you want from me?"

"I would like to talk to you, get to know you better, but I see you are busy right now. Can we meet later, maybe for dinner?"

Manami was quite amused. "Oh, are you inviting me for a date? I must say you are good looking, but I'm not interested in that right now."

"I wouldn't mind going on a date with you, but I would describe this more as a business dinner. You see, I have an organization and I would like to know if you were interested."

An organization? Could he be from the freelancers? "And why should I be interested in that organization of yours?"

"What I have heard about you is that you deserted Konoha. Now you are hunting criminals. It seemed that you still have a sense of responsibility. I don't want to tell you too much now, we are honest people who try to change the system which the hidden villages are built on."

It sounded like them. "Ok, tell me the time, I will choose the location."

Later that night they met in a busy restaurant. The group of Seishiro was indeed the freelancers. The way he talked about them was like they were a group of revolutionaries who tried to change the world to a better place. He was right on one point. The system of the hidden villages isn't the best. The shinobis are the military force of the countries but they are also treated like mercenaries. But what the freelancers are doing is just the same, only that the money goes to themselves.

Manami made some questions as if she was considering his offer. In the end, she said "it sounds interesting, I haven't figured out what I want to do now that I have the chance to choose. But, I am tired of roaming around alone. Having somewhere I could go seems nice. But I have one condition. I won't participate in any mission that is against Konoha or the land of fire. Maybe one day I'll be ready for that, but not right now."

And with that, she was in. It took them some time to trust her enough to bring her to their hideout, but now there she was.

*** End of flashback ***

It was no wonder no one had found their hideout. It was a cave and the entrances were hidden and sealed off. Normally new members would take longer to be brought here but Seishiro liked Manami and she knew how to take advantage of that. Nonetheless, it had been over one year since Manami had left Konoha.

At first, she was skeptical if Seishiro was truly the leader, but seeing how the other members addressed him, he must really be. Then he had someone to play the head of the organization to take off the spotlight and the target on his head.

He was showing Manami around and was taking her to her room. She had her own room, the bathroom was shared and the meals would be served in a hall for all members.

"Please make yourself comfortable and after dinner come see me."

Manami took the time to make a report for the Hokage. She would greet him and wait until he responded. That way she knew he was around to read what she wrote.

The meal she ate was reasonable. It was no 5 stars restaurant but she has had worse. Now she was heading to the main facility where Seishiro was awaiting her. His room was more like a suite, it had his bedroom and an office/living room.

"Thank you for coming, Manami. So what do you think of our small village?"

They made some small talk, drank some wine, and then he got closer to her.

"You know Manami, you are a fascinating woman and an incredible Kunoichi."

Manami played shy. "Don't say such things, I get embarrassed hearing such compliments from you."

"But it's true." He got even closer to her and looked her deep in the eyes.

He then leaned forward and kissed her. She went with it and kissed him back, the kiss becoming more intense until they ran out of air.

Manami stood up and takes off her shirt. She kneeled between his legs and started to take off his pains. She could tell he would like that. He was a man with power and seeing her on her knees would set him off. Once the pants and boxers were off, she started to lick his half erect member. Once it had his full size she took it in her mouth while making eye contact with him. He soon began to moan and hold her head for her to go deeper. Manami obliged and had to concentrate to not throw up. When he was about to cum, she finishes him with the hand, his cum splashing on her chest.

Manami stood up. With the finger she took some of his cum and liked it. Seishiro got mad with desire. He got up too, grabbed her ass, and pulled her up carrying her to his bedroom. He let her fall on the bed, took off his shirt, and got over her. He was kissing her neck, his hands were occupied taking off her pains and underpants. He got down on her, not softly. He liked her clit and slammed two fingers in her. Manami moaned more than she would usually to please Seishiro. When he was ready again he turned her around and positioned himself on her entrance. He teased Manami a bit by rubbing himself against her and then thrust into her. He was loving seeing her back under him. The beauty with the Sharingan was his and she was like a trophy to him. He had wanted her since he saw her killing that criminal. She was ruthless, almost savage and he had tamed her.

A little while later he finished off. Manami didn't but simulated it. She had enough of him and wanted to end this. Seishiro fell on the bed next to her. He kissed her hand and asked: "Are you mine now?"

_'Ugh, so cheesy.'_ She looked at him and smiled "I just arrived here. If people saw us together they probably would think that I was taking advantage and I don't want that. If you want me than only in private. No one would know."

That wasn't exactly what Seishiro wanted. He wanted to boast that Manami was his. But with time she would be more flexible, for sure. "As you wish, my beauty."

He fell fast asleep and Manami deactivated her Sharingan. In the past months, she had become really good at genjutso. Most people didn't even notice when they were in her illusion. It had worked well for torture and as it seemed it worked for pleasure as well. Seishiro had never put a finger on her. When he looked in her eyes, before the kiss, she had him already under her illusion. She wanted their relationship to stay private because she could only put one person at a time under her genjutsu, she hoped he would respect that. He was good looking and his charisma made him interesting, but he was a criminal and that was a nogo for Manami. Since he had fallen asleep on the couch instead of in the bed as in the illusion Manami needed to carry him there and take off his clothes. Then she was gone.

The weeks were passing by and Manami could deceive Seishiro. Men are always willing to believe two things about a woman: one, that she is weak, and two, that she finds him attractive.* Manami had come to find that statement to be true and she would always take advantage of it when she could. This time she could know every detail from the freelancers and soon all the important members would be in the headquarter to celebrate the anniversary of the organization. That information was passed to the Hokage and he found that this would be the best opportunity to take down the freelancers.

The night of the celebration had come. Manami was about to make her part of the Hokage's plan. She would put some herbs in the dinner which would cause somnolence. By the time the Anbu would strike, most of the criminals would be asleep and Manami was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * Quote from Morrigan in Dragon Age Origins


	16. When he meets her again

Kakashi was on a mission with Tenzo. Well, actually he was trying to get his friend drunk so he would spill out what he knew about Manami. Since Kakashi had now obligation as a sensei he couldn't take part in the downfall of the freelancers.

Tenzo was telling him that Manami wasn't seen in the hideout but she had been part of them. The real leader had been interrogated and they found out that she was his lover. "But Ibiki has found out that his memory was manipulated and some things don't add up." Tenzo said dragging the words because of his intoxicated estate.

"What more" Kakashi pressed his friend.

"It was strange when we arrived at their hideout, many were asleep. It was easy to defeat them."

_'Strange indeed.'_ Kakashi thought.

Tenzo had another drink which was too much for him. Now he would only talk nonsense. Kakashi sighs and helps his friend go home.

* * *

Manami had laid low, orders of the Hokage. She couldn't go home right now because the events with the freelancers were still too fresh. She was in a hideout she had built. Actually, she had more than that hideout. With the money she had made as a bounty hunter, she would set up a cabinet or an abandoned house as a safe house for her. She would build an escape passage, have some food supply, and some clothes to change.

She would usually spend her free time training with Becas. She had learned to use chakra to transform herself. She would get bigger, like a lion, and her strength enabled her to carry Manami for a long ride.

Sometimes the Hokage would order Manami to investigate something or offer support to some group if she would be nearby or no one else was available, but mostly she was on her own.

* * *

On a quiet evening, the usual gang had met in the bar. There was Kakashi, Gay, Asuma, Kurenai, Genma, and Anko. The conversation had been about their genin and the mission they had. Guy was finishing a rather boring story when he said. "Oh, and the other day I saw Manami." Genma and Kakashi, who had been mostly concentrated on his books, were all ears now.

"Why didn't you tell that first?" Asked Genma. "Come one spill it out."

"It was 3 days ago, a sunny day it was. The best team with the most good-looking sensei was on..." Guy was interrupted by Kurenai.

"Dear God, Guy please stay with the facts."

Guy was almost crying because he couldn't tell his epic tale, but neither less, he resumed his story. He was also with his genin team on an easy mission, but on the way back they were attacked by some organized thieves. Guy was worried because of his students. There were just too many thieves for him to protect his genin. But then, Manami appeared and helped them out. Most of the thieves fled when they recognized the 'Beauty with the black Sharingan' as they called her.

"Hey Guy, what are you doing here and with those kids? This is a dangerous region because of these thieves. Best you get out of here."

"Manami? What are you doing here?"

Guy couldn't believe it was really her. What would he do? She was a missing-nin, his responsibility was to bring her back to Konoha but if he would fight her, his genin could come in danger. It was like Manami had read his thoughts.

"If you want to catch me then you have to outrun me and your genin would probably be left alone and easy prey for those thieves. What will you do?"

"I let her go, what else could I have done?" Guy concluded his story for his friends.

_'Manami, what the heck are you doing_? _Why are you near but still won't come home?_ ' Kakashi couldn't decide if he still had feelings for her or if he hated her, maybe both a little...

* * *

Kakashi was out with his team on a mission. This was a more difficult one since Kakashi had decided they were ready for the chunin exams. It would be in a couple of weeks from now. The mission now was simple. An important artifact got stolen from a rich man and he wanted it back.

In that region, there have been more assaults than usual.

During the investigation they were attacked. Kakashi could handle the situation but the knucklehead Naruto had to run off behind some of the bandits...

Manami was doing a mission for the Hokage. There had been many assaults lately and he instructed her to bring down the bandits. On the leader's head was a bounty, that would be her payment.

A genin team should be around somewhere, their mission could be linked to that group. She should stay hidden from them unless they needed help. It wouldn't be the first time she helped out, not long ago she saw Guy with his student. Every time she remembered the one kid from his team she thought if Guy had an affair with the kid's mother. He looked just like him...

She was searching for the bandits when she heard a tumult. There were some men gathered around a kid with blonde hair and a Konoha forehead protector. One of the men was fighting with him. The kid was holding his ground more or less, but still got pretty beaten up. Manami sprinted towards the guy who was fighting with the kid.

"Hey, you" she called. As the man was looking at her she slammed her fist right into his face. "Why don't you pick a fight with someone your height?"

The man holds his chin "I would say you are about my height honey."

"Bring it one then." The fight was short and soon the man was on the ground. The others who were watching cheered when a big guy stepped forward. He was a bit harder to win but Manami still managed it. After him, came the first man again with two more, now they were pissed. Manami activated her Sharingan. Three against one required more concentration, but the fighting skills of those men were around the chunin level, so not even three opponents scared her.

"Guys this is her, it's the beauty with the black Sharingan. We should tell the boss". Rapidly they were gone.

"Thank you, lady. Wow, your eyes. Are those Sharingan? Are you an Uchiha?"

"Hey slow down kid. First, you can call me Manami, lady makes me feel old. Some people think those are Sharingan, I personally think they are similar but weaker because I'm no Uchiha, maybe I had one distant relative that was. Now it's my turn. What's your name and why are you alone here?"

I'm Naruto Uzumaki, future Hokage and I was about to teach those bandits a lesson."

Manami sweatdropped _'of course you were_ ' "ok, but where is the rest of your team and sensei?"

"Don't know"

Manami took a deep inhale to try not lose her patience. "Do you know from which side you came?"

"Sure, from there" he pointed.

"Ok, then let's see if we can find your team. Tell me, who is your sensei?"

"It's Kakashi"

Manami almost laughed out loud, but the boy seemed to be serious. _'Kakashi is a Sensei now. I can't imagine it...'_

They searched for a while but couldn't find anyone. Manami then holt witch made Naruto look at her.

"I need you to be quiet now, I will see if I can find your team. Manami made her ready to meditate and immerse herself within the surroundings. She was no sensory ninja but with the practice she had, she could feel the tiniest of chakra, and a shinobi that was hiding his signature would appear to her as a blank spot. This way she hoped to find Kakashi, but She needed to concentrate.

"What are you doing? How can you find my team by sitting still?"

"Seriously? I won't tell you my tricks so be quiet now or I will leave you on your own." She had definitely no patience for kids. She tried again to focus and a little later she had found them.

"Ok, they are in this direction about 250 meters, you can't miss them."

"Won't you come with me and meet my team?"

"No, I have business to attend, but it was a pleasure to meet you kid. Stay safe and hope you remember me when you're Hokage."

"I will believe it."

With a big smile he ran in the direction she told him.

_'The kid is not so bad after all, at least when he doesn't speak.'_

Kakashi was tired of always having to search for Naruto. _'I swear I will put a leash on him for the next mission if he doesn't show up immediately.'_

As soon as that thought crossed his mind he sensed Naruto approaching.

"Finally where have you been? We are tired of looking for you" Sakura gave Naruto a head bump.

Sasuke just loved to make fun of Naruto "I bet he got lost."

"No, I didn't. I went after those bandits and fought them."

Kakashi was impressed. "How many were there?"

"A lot, believe it."

"And you beat all by yourself?" Asked Sasuke skeptical.

Naruto scratched his neck. "Well there was this lady, oh she hates been called that, ahm her name was Mami or Monami. Oh, and she had black Sharingan."

_'That can only be Manami.'_ Kakashi summoned his ninken Pak. "Naruto where did you last see her?" ' _She couldn't have gone far. Even if she teleported herself there is a limit she could reach.'_

Meanwhile, Manami was trying to put as much distance as she could between her and Kakashi's team. She would bring down the bandits leader another day. Most probably would Kakashi try to hunt her as soon as he knew that she was nearby. In a clearing, she got stopped by what seemed like the howl bandits group. It would be around 50 men.

"Finally I found you" It was the leader who had spoken. Manami recognized him from the bounty sketches.

"And why were you searching for me?"

"You will pay for what you did to my cousin Seishiro Hosokawa. He told me you were his lover."

"And what have I done to him?"

"You have betrayed him. How else would it be possible that every member of the freelancers has been arrested less you?"

There was no way Manami could go around this situation and Kakashi would be already searching for her, for sure. She hated to use her chakra sucking jutsu. She had called it her final jutsu. She could now start and finish it whenever she wanted, but her body would still pay the price for overusing it. But she couldn't see any other way to win against all those men.

There were rumors of the beauty turning into a beast. Only a few had seen her in that state and lived, but it could be enough for some of her enemies to flee now.

She started to call all the chakra around her. Her eyes blackened completely, her hair began to float around her face and a black aura surrounded her. She let them see her like that and then she launched her attack against the leader. She intended to spread fear so she would be especially brutal. It wouldn't be difficult since she couldn't control the force she used. Her only way to attack was to kill. In a blink of an eye, she was before her victim and ripped his heart with her bare hand. She assumed the men left and right would be his most trusted, so she took her Katana from her back and in one move she slashed the one on the right and twirling around, she decapitated the other on the left.

She jumped back at her original position and faced her enemies. "Those of you who want to live run, now!"

Some of them ran, others were frozen in shock but there were still some who attacked her. She charged without mercy. After she was done, the soil was saturated with blood. Body parts were scattered everywhere. Those images didn't make her sick to the stomach as they used to. She was now hardened.

She ended her jutsu and felt immediate weakness take over her body. She let her fall to the knees, but she didn't pass out. She reached in her pocket for a military ration to gain a bit more energy. Afterward, she got up and started to move again, but it was too late.

A kunai passed right next to her and embedded in a tree trunk. "Stop Manami." It was Kakashi.

There was no way she could outrun him in her condition. It had taken her too much time to fight those bandits. She put her hands up in defeat and turned slowly around. He had his Sharingan out and a serious expression on his face. At least it wasn't the face of betrayal he had when she left...


	17. I release you from your promise

"Stop Manami."

She had come to hold and turned around with her arms up. _'I_ finally _found you'_ taught Kakashi. The doubts about his feelings for her were gone in an instant. She was beautiful as ever although little differences could be seen. She was skinner now, had lost some of her curves and her eyes had become hard, with light circles underneath them and they even lost the glow they once had. Everything different about her indicated that she had been through hard times.

His genin had caught up to them. When they saw the carnage they gasped. Sakura turned light green and even Sasuke and Naruto were white on their faces.

His Manami wouldn't do this unless it was necessary. No, this Manami was a different one. He saw how her legs began to shake. She had used that strange Jutsu of hers and was barely holding up. As she was about to fall he ran to her to catch her. Her perfume was the same. He could still smell it over the blood she was covered with.

"Thank you," she said.

"Sasuke bring me a rope." He did as asked and when Kakashi was about to tie her, Naruto complained.

"Sensei Kakashi what are you doing? She helped me before and those she killed were probably bandits."

Manami spoke to him. "It's ok Kid. Kakashi is only doing his job. You know, I'm classified as missing-nin."

The kids were speechless.

Since Manami was so weak, Kakashi carried her on his back. She used that time to rest and come up with a plan to escape. She had already regretted telling Becas not to follow her unless she would take long to come back. If she would be with her, Manami could have escaped on her back before Kakashi had reached her.

They would have to rest soon, the kids were tired. If it was for Kakashi he would walk straight to Konoha. He was eager to see Manami back there. Until then he couldn't take down his guard on her because she could try to escape.

After a while, they stopped. Manami was sitting by a tree with her hands behind her back. With time passing by she was panicking inside because she couldn't find a way to escape. But she needed to stay calm. After being fed by Kakashi and the kids sleeping She looked at him. He was staring at the same page of his book for some time. She remembered his face when they kissed and wished she could see it again. But she knew she had hurt him by leaving and if he had feelings for her back then, he surely wouldn't have now.

Since she didn't come up with an escape plan she might as well try to provoke him.

"Hey, you. What are you going to do when I need to pee?"

"I go with you."

"And if I need to do number two?"

"I would go with you too."

"Good thing then that I only need number one."

He closed his book and looked at her. "Are you serious?"

"Of course. Have you seen how much time I have been with you without using a toilet?"

He stood up, tied another rope as a leash, and helped her up. He walked a bit away from the group and stopped behind a bush.

"Ok, do your business."

Manami looked at him. "You need to put my paints down, I can't with my hands like this."

He blushed with the tough of taking her paints off but untied her hands and tied them back in the front. "Does this work for you?" She nodded and did what she had to do.

She wouldn't run now. She had some dignity and wouldn't escape while peeing...

Back with her hands behind her back on the tree, she made conversation with Kakashi.

"Being a sensei suits you."

He arched an eyebrow. "Why so?"

"You look happier and one can see that those three have grown on you."

"Well don't get me wrong but you being a missing-nin doesn't work for you. You have seen better days."

She knew that was true so she looked to the ground which caused Kakashi to get angry.

He was frustrated with her and wanted some clarity "I have heard you were with the freelancers?"

"Yes I was, the leader had convinced me they wanted to change the world for better. When I saw it wasn't true I left."

"Did he convince you to share his bed too?"

That caught Manami off guard. She looked at him and thought about telling him the truth that she hadn't slept with him, but instead, she decided to continue to provoke him. "What if he did, are you jealous?"

Kakashi had forgotten how provocative she could be. Best if he did the same.

"You would like that wouldn't you?"

Manami laughed.

Sakura was finding this conversation rather interesting. She should rest but her curiosity got the better of her and was eardroping on them. Were they once friends or lovers? There was so much she didn't know about her sensei...

"What I would like now is my bed."

"You are here because of your choices" was the harsh response from Kakashi.

"No, I'm here because you forced me to. Why can't you just let me be."

"Because I made you a promise."

"What promise?"

"Don't you remember? I promised you I would be your friend."

"Then I release you from your promise."

Kakashi was hurt by her words. He remembered when he wanted to confess to her at her birthday party. He had thought maybe she could have feelings for him too but then she was with Migeru. Later when they kissed he had new hope but afterwards she left. And now she doesn't even want his friendship anymore. She had changed and he must finally understand that and move on.

"As you wish. From now one I will treat you as a normal criminal because that's what you are."

Manami was about to respond but she saw movement behind him. It was Becas. Thank God she had come after her.

"Fine, now let me be, I want to rest."

She had no time for considering if her words had hurt Kakashi or not. Right now she was in mission mode and had to find a way to escape. If by upsetting Kakashi could help her achieve her goal it was ok for her. She would do damage control once she was back in Konoha.

With that, she closed her eyes and searched Becas's presence. She was moving towards her as quiet as only a cat can be. Manami was hiding her presence until Becas had gnawed through the rope. Once her hands were free she created an image of her own sitting there and climbed the tree. On the ground with the leaves would make too much noise. She remembered to see a river and that was her goal. Kakashi's ninken would have difficulty finding her scent on the water.

With the distance, it was difficult to maintain her image by the tree and soon Kakashi saw some flickering.

"Shit." He jumped up and reached for Manami only to grab air. "You guys wake up!" He called once again his ninken and ordered them to search her. She wouldn't escape him a second time. She was resourceful and tricky but he needed to be more clever than her. He made a clone and sent him after her. He needed to stay with his team.

Manami had reached the river. She had some options now. She could go down or up the river but she opted for another way. Becas jumped on her shoulder and Manami teleported them between Konoha and the camp place where she had rested. She hoped that Kakashi would think she wanted to go as far away as she could from Konoha, so she would instead go to the village. She had been there for sometimes since she was classified as a missing-nin and had no problem go in and out undetected.

* * *

Kakashi couldn't believe he had lost her again. His mood was bad for not saying worse. But it was strange, the Hokage didn't seem to mind that Manami had escaped. _'I_ mu _st be imagining it, but he seemed even relieved._ '

After laying low for a couple of days Manami visited her parents. She wanted to stay for the chunin exams but security had been increased and it would be risky.

When she heard about the events that happened during the finals she was in shock. She went back as quickly as she could. The constructions for rebuilding were already going on but she still could see the destruction that occurred. She helped where she could. It wouldn't matter if she was recognized or not. It was her home and she wanted to help.

Who would be now the next Hokage? Would he believe her that she had deserted because of a mission?


	18. New Hokage, new mission

Tsunade was Hokage for less than a week and was already overworked. She had been able to restore Kakashi's and Sasuke's mind and had been now studying Rock Lee's case. She must have fallen asleep last night on her desk. In front of her was an envelope with her name on it, it wasn't there the night before. She opened it and read:

_Dear Lady Hokage_

_I'm writing this letter to introduce myself. I'm_ _Manami_ _Kaigan_ _and I'm currently classified as missing-nin because I deserted. I did so by request of the third Hokage because of a mission. I have attached the contract for proof. For the last, almost three years I have stayed loyal to_ _Konoha_ _and have fulfilled missions for the Hokage that he seemed fit for my status as missing-nin and no official_ _Konoha_ _shinobi could be sent for it. Now with his death and you as his successor I want to pledge my loyalty to you. As a demonstration of my abilities, while you are reading this I should be present in your office..._

Tsunade looked up from the letter and in front of her appeared a woman in Anbu uniform with her mask in hand. She kneeled as a sign of respect (something that Tsunade didn't like and had to abolish it). She was impressed that she could come to her office without her security to know.

Manami said: "Lady Hokage I'm sorry to introduce myself like this but it was the only way I could figure out to let you know where my loyalty lies."

"No it's okay, but I am intrigued now. What exactly are your capabilities?"

Manami explained it to her.

Tsunade's mind was still a bit foggy from sleep but she still could think of some use for her, like spying Orochimaru or the Akasuki.

"Your contract with the third said it would be three years tops when you could come back and time is almost up. But I can see how your situation can be handy. Would you be willing to extend the contract with me with the same conditions, of course?"

Manami hesitated before answering. She was becoming tired of her situation but couldn't say no to the Hokage. "If I can be of use then I will do it, but not for three more years. One maybe two tops."

Tsunade could live with that. "Give me some time so I can organize myself. Come here again by nightfall. By then I should be ready to tell you your next mission. Please tell Shizune to come in when you leave."

Manami bowed and did as asked. Shizune was at her desk outside of the Hokage's office. She was surprised to see someone else come out of Tsunade's office and hasted to go inside to see if everything was okay with her mentor.

Manami had been in the village since she arrived to help rebuild it. She always used disguises to go outside. She was sad that she couldn't interact with her friends but she had seen them for afar. She had heard what happened to Kakashi and his confrontation with Itachi. She was sorry for not being able to visit him at the hospital. She had time to think about what she said to him the last time they met. If he didn't hate her before now he would for sure and it hurts her to know that. She had hoped that the fifth Hokage would let her come back but it wasn't so. At least if she could be of use to bring Orochimaru to justice then she would be happy.

*** Before nightfall***

Once again in the Hokage's office, Manami received her new orders. She had to find clues about Orochimaru and his helpers. In different lands it had been reported that he had laboratories and Manami had to search for them and report what she found. Whenever possible she had to stay undetected and never engage in combat. If something would happen to her, Becas could go to Tsunade. With that Manami was once again on the road with Becas.

* * *

On a quiet evening when Manami was cooking some fish in the fire she received a message from lady Tsunade. She said that Sasuke Uchiha had run off to Orochimaru. Manami should keep an eye out for him while she was investigating. This must be another blow for Kakashi and he was so proud of his team.

* * *

Sometime later Manami was moving along the border of the land of fire and the land of rivers. She had heard of travelers speaking of deformed and violent men being sighted there. It could be some of the men that had escaped an experimental facility from Orochimaru that was located to the north of the sightings.

After searching for some days she had found them. They were about 14 men and had established a rudimentary camp. The small settlements around lived in fear. It wouldn't be the first time they were attacked by them. Manami made a report to Tsunade and asked her to send some team to deal with them because for her alone they were too strong. She had experience fighting against Orochimaru's experiments and they were all a pain in the ass to kill. Tsunade had all hands full, but it was a dangerous situation. She had to find a solution.

When Manami read the orders from the Hokage she couldn't believe it. She would only send Kakashi. As it seemed he was the only shinobi available right now. She was to stay and help him and somehow not get caught by him when it was done. _'Great. All the_ _shinobis_ _in_ _Konoha_ _and the only one available is the one that is probably most committed to bringing me back.'_ She had to come up with a plan for fighting the experiments and also how she would escape once again Kakashi if he decided to catch her after the fight...

Kakashi had arrived almost at nightfall at the camp of the fugitives experiments. _'They are many. How the fuck does Tsunade want me to win alone?'_ He felt a presence behind him and got ready for being attacked, but that never happened. He looked back and was surprised when he saw Manami. _'What the heck is she doing here?'_ She was making a signal for him to come closer to her. He hesitated for a bit, not because he thought that she would attack him but because he had hoped he would be over her, but he wasn't. After what they said last time they met, he was determined to forget her and with the distance between them it worked (most of the time) but her standing in front of him so unexpectedly caught him off guard. He eventually approached her.

Manami was the first to talk: "If you think you can take them out alone then forget it. They are monsters, their bodies modified because of the experiments of Orochimaru and most probably there straight is raised as well."

"Yea, I was thinking just that."

"Good. But if we work together I think we could make it. I have watched them for some time and I have thought of a plan."

"Wait, where YOU thinking about taking them down alone?" Kakashi asked incredulously.

"Maybe we should discuss this somewhere farther away from them. I have a hideout nearby. I lead the way."

She began to walk away, leaving a puzzled Kakashi behind. He just couldn't figure her out. Was she really preparing herself to kill them all by herself? And why would she do it in the first place? Best he would follow her and find out.

As he walked behind her he couldn't resist to check her out. She was looking better now than the last time he had seen her. Her ass had once again a nice round shape and her eyes had lost the dark circles underneath them. But he couldn't let her distract him...

Her hideout was a small cabin. Inside was a bed, an improvised kitchen with a camping gas stove, and a chabudai (a short legged table used in traditional Japanese homes) with two cushions. The light was provided by one oil lamp. _'Is she living here?'_

"I suggest resting tonight so I have time to explain my plan to you. Are you hungry? I will make dinner."

Kakashi was more and more confused with her actions but he still washed his hands and helped her chop some vegetables. She was avoiding him, careful not to get close and not looking him directly in the eye.

"So what is your plan?"

Kakashi was making her nervous. The time she spent in Konoha after the death of the third Hokage only made her miss her old life more. She had felt more alone than ever before and with Kakashi around, if he would keep asking why she wouldn't go back, she wouldn't know what to say and how to convince him she was voluntarily away from home.

"The group has 14 members. 3 of them can see perfectly in the dark but in the daylight they are almost blind. That's why they keep watching at night and sleep at day. During the day part of them are out to search for food. I think that would be the best time to attack."

"You would attack them alone, wouldn't you?"

Manami had made this plan considering his help, but he had no way to know that. "Yes."

"Why? You would be risking your life. Heck, even for us two it will be a hard fight, even dangerous. Just why would you do it?"

"Because they are dangerous and threaten the people who live here. I couldn't just pass by and do nothing." That was a lie but if Lady Tsunade hadn't sent someone she probably still attacked them alone because of the reasons she just said.

"So this is what you do? You protect the civilians?" Kakashi said that more to himself than to her. That's why she didn't reply. He continued making questions.

"Do you live here?"

"No, this is just a shelter I built some time ago. A safe house if you want. I have some of these so you don't need to come back here later to search for me. I don't intend to come back here."

"No this is not what I meant... You look better now than the last time we met."

Before Manami left Konoha again, Tsunade examined her. She had seen pictures of Manami from before she deserted and was concerned about her well-being. In the end, she gave Manami some vitamins and told her to rest more and eat better whenever she could. "I have seen a doctor and since I follow her orders I am feeling better."

"Good to know." Kakashi was happy to hear that. After all this time he still cared about her.

Dinner was ready and Manami poured the soup into two bowls. "You can sit on the bed, I will be on the table with my back facing you so you can eat in peace."

She wanted to give him privacy to take off his mask, as she used to do. But he instead sat on the cushion in front of her and took off his mask. "You have seen my face before so it doesn't matter."

Manami blushed when she saw his face and remembered in which circumstances she had seen it in the first place. To prevent herself from staring she quickly turned her attention to her soup.

This didn't pass unnoticed by him and he smiled to himself. Normally he doesn't like that reaction to his face but with her he somehow doesn't mind it, it even makes him feel proud.

To break the silence he spoke, "so why do you have two cushions?"

Manami's face lit up. "One for me and the other for Becas of course."

"What, she came with you? Is she a ninneko?"

"I'm not sure what she is. She could be a ninneko or even a guardian angel, I really don't know."

"So that's how you escaped the other time. It was she who gnawed the robe?"

"Yes, she did." Manami hesitated for a bit but then said "I wanted to apologize for what I said to you back then. I know you are doing your duty when you try to bring me back, but I was nervous and was pushing you to maybe find a way to escape."

He wasn't expecting an apology from her."It's ok, no harm done." He holds himself back to not try to persuade her once again to go back. They needed to work together tomorrow so best if things stayed calm between them. But he still had some questions. "Can I ask you why you slaughter the men the way you did that day?"

"I did it so the rest of the bandits would be scared and ran off. I killed the leader first and the men next to him and only those who attacked me. The rest ran away. They must have been around 50, I didn't want to kill them all."

Kakashi considered her answer. Perhaps what she did was the best solution. "And do you know why they attacked you in the first place?"

Manami told him that the bandit's leader was the cousin of the leader from the freelancers and he thought she had betrayed him.

"And were you two together? I mean the leader of the freelancers?"

"Please, I have standards. No, I put him under my genjutsu with my Sharingan to find out what he truly intended to achieve. That's when I left them." Good thing Manami could come quickly with an excuse for his questions.

Now Kakashi understood her better. She was still his Manami, she hadn't changed at all. From what he could see she was still trying to do good for Konoha and the fire land. If she would go back she surly would be forgiven for deserting especially by helping him out taking down that group of experiments.

Manami stood up to do the dishes and Kakashi helped her. As she was reaching him the last bowl, their hands touched. This simple contact sends a shiver through her. She looked him in the eye and blushed. Her reaction didn't pass unnoticed by him. _'If she reacts like this only because of that little touch that must mean she feels something for me, right?'_ As she was about to turn her back to him he put the bowl on the counter, pulled her shoulder so she would face him again, and kissed her. He needed to know once and for all. He didn't deepen the kiss, instead, he pulled back to see her reaction.


	19. Friend, Lover or enemy?

Kakashi pulled back from the kiss and they looked at each other.

Her head was always working and spoke louder than her heart. If she would stop thinking for a moment and listening to her heart it would say she had fallen for Kakashi a long time ago. The way she had reacted to his touche on the assassination mission was the first sign. She had ignored it. Her head said to her heart that he was only teasing her, that nothing was going on. And then when they kissed she was too worried about her mission to desert so her mind had pushed the memory aside. But at night when she was about to fall asleep and lonely, her mind already shutting down, her heart took over and she imagined what would have happened that night if Kakashi didn't stop her and if she would have stayed in Konoha. And now standing before him her heart screamed 'how can you not fall for him?! He has a sense of humor, is intelligent, kind but still strong, good looking, and just beautiful.' So, on the eve of the difficult mission they would have tomorrow, in which something could go wrong and one of them or even both could die, she let her heart lead and shut up her mind.

She smiled at him, put one hand on his face, and leaned in for another kiss. It was a slow and deep kiss. They had all night for each other so there was no need to rush things.

After so many years one of her hands got once again lost in his soft hair, the other went from his face down to his shoulder and continued down his arm, feeling his hard muscles underneath his sweater. He, on the other hand, was caressing her back and pulling her tightly to his body.

The kiss intensified and Kakashi left her mouth to trace her neck with his tongue. She tilts her head to give him better access. The sensation he was giving her was different than what she had felt before or was she just imagining it because since their last kiss she hadn't been with anyone else?

Manami was shorter than Kakashi so he pushed her on the counter to level them out but forgot about the bowl he put there and it fell to the ground shattering.

"Sorry, I..."

"Doesn't matter."

It was just an old bowl, nothing to worry about and Manami didn't want his mouth to leave hers.

Once again Kakashi's hands were caressing her back until they reached the edge of her shirt and pushed it up to touch directly her skin. Feeling his callused hands on her skin made her shiver with pleasure. She reaches for his west zipper and opens it letting it slide over his shoulders to the ground. Her hands were now exploring his chest over his sweater but soon they found their way under it.

Her light cold fingers left a tingling sensation on his skin but when she scratched him lightly with her fingernails it made him shiver. He took off her shirt and once again kissed down her neck. But he doesn't stop and kisses further until he reaches her bra. She leans back and savories the feeling of him touching her. He manages to unclasp her bra but before he can fall over her breasts Manami pushes his sweater over his head.

Kakashi picks her up and she wraps her legs around him. Without effort, he brings her to the bed and lays her down. Now she couldn't escape him and he kisses one breast and then the other, her nipples already hard when he takes one in his mouth, and the other he assaults with his fingers.

Manami has some difficulty to maintain a even breathing. Kakashi is doing a good job because she can already feel how wet she is.

He came up to claim her lips and she ran her hands down his back, grasped his ass, and pushed him against her, feeling his erection through the pans.

She had enough of being under him so she flips them around. On top of him, she kisses his neck and finds the spot that makes him inhale sharply. Smiling from his reaction she travels down making sure her nipples touched his chest on the way. Her fingers and tongue exploring his skin. Some scars are found but they don't make him less perfect, they only make him more interesting. She reaches his pants and opens them to take them off letting his trunks hide his member. Before she can move over him again he presses her on the mattress on his side, one arm under her waist and the other free to explore her body. It is his time to open her zipper and push down her pants. She helps him since he only has one hand free.

With her legs now bare, he traces them upwards with his hand, making her shiver in anticipation when he reaches her inner thigh. He doesn't stop there, his hand moving away her underpants and feeling her wetness. A small moan escaped her lips and he smiled wickedly before pushing a finger inside her. Her body reacts to the invasion by lifting her hips but Kakashi was taking his time too and was teasing her. He removes his hand from her underpants and continues his travel upwards. When he reaches her neck he pulls her in for a deep slow kiss. This calms Manami a bit down and she almost melts because of the sweetness of the kiss.

Kakashi is the one who breaks the kiss. He looks at her and asks a bit concerned: "Do you have protection?"

When Tsunade examined her, Manami asked her for the injection to stop her menstruation cycle and it hadn't passed a year yet.

"It's ok, I'm protected"

He smiles in relief. He begins to kiss her again with new passion and soon pushes her underpants down her legs. But Manami doesn't let him tease her like before. She quickly grabs his trunks and pulls them down too. Once again she takes control and pushes Kakashi on the mattress. Crawling over him she levels her mouth with his penis and looking him in the eye she begins to lick it while holding it with a hand. When she takes him in her mouth Kakashi lets out a muffled moan. Then she increases the speed and what she can't take in her mouth she rubs with her hand. That makes Kakashi go mad and he has to stop her before he climaxes.

He pulls her up next to him and takes some breath to control himself. Oh, his vengeance will be good. He goes over her kissing her body down to her core. He begins to lick her softly and then stops only to push one finger into her. Manami makes a sound like she was purring. He liked that sound. Now he pushed two fingers and began to lick her again, the rhythm increasing until her legs began to shake and she too had to stop him.

He cleans his mouth and kisses her. As he is positioning himself at her entrance he stops. He wants to be sure that is what she wants. "Can I continue?"

"Yes but please go slow. I haven't been with someone for a while."

"And how long is that?" Kakashi was curious. He has had some women. Most of them for try to forget about her...

"Almost four years." She says shyly

_'Four years? That means the last person she was with was_ _Migeru_ _, her dead boyfriend. I can't let her down.'_

Slowly he pushes himself in her and holds to give her time to adjust herself to him. Then he begins to move. Slowly at first but increasing his pace. He feels her moving her hips to his rhythm which causes him to go deeper.

Manami isn't a girl to be loud during sex, but as Kakashi was going deeper into her he hit her spot, and a louder moan than usual escapes her mouth.

Kakashi thought he had hurt her and stopped. "I'm sorry, did I hurt you?"

"No it's good, you just are so deep in me and it feels so good. Please go on."

He smiles and continues. Seeing her facial expression change with the pleasure he is giving her makes him feel proud.

She tries to hold back her moans but it has proven to be more and more difficult as she feels her release approach. She let an "fuck" escape when she climaxes. It was intense, wave after wave of pleasure washes over her body and it just doesn't seem to end. This is probably the longest orgasm she has had.

Kakashi feels her tightening and lets him be taken over by the sensation increasing his speed and soon he too climaxes.

He let himself fall to the mattress next to her, both trying to catch their breaths. He looks at her and she smiles at him.

She says "I could fall asleep now, but I need to pee."

"I can tie you up and lead you behind a bush."

"You already did that, you pervert." She hit him with her pillow and stood up, letting the moonlight hit her naked body (the oil lamp had turned off a while ago).

He approves his view with a grunt.

When Manami was back he was half asleep but he still managed to pull her close to him and they fell asleep.

*** The next day***

Kakashi was the first to wake up. He was still holding Manami close to him. She looks so peaceful while asleep. It pains him but he has to wake her up. They had a mission to complete and hopefully, he could convince her to go with him back to Konoha. He caresses her cheek lightly and she opens her eyes.

"Good morning sunshine. It's time to wake up."

She smiles at him "Good morning. I see you have slept well?"

"Yes I have, but we have to get ready"

Her smile disappears fast when she remembers what they had to do today. "Yes, you're right. Let's get this over with."

They prepared themselves for the fight and went to the camp of the experiments. Only 4 had stayed back and for certain the other 3 that had held nightwatch would be sleeping.

The plan was simple. Each of them would attack one of their targets, preferentially from the back to take them out fast. Then there would only be one for each other left. If one of the ones that was sleeping appeared, they should be almost blind with the sunlight and therefore shouldn't be that hard to take down. Then they only needed to deal with the other 7 that were out searching for food.

Everything was going to plan. The 4 that stayed watch during the day were already dead and they were ending things with the other 3. But then the rest of the group came back unexpectedly. Manami was pushed to a corner by 5 of them, the others stayed by Kakashi. When he saw her in the midst of their enemies he got desperate. He wanted to help her but couldn't overcome his own enemies. He got sloppy and one of them hit his arm leaving a deep cut in it.

Manami had no other choice than to use her final jutsu. She had never used it with an ally nearby and she hoped she would have enough control over her to not hurt Kakashi. She let desperation take over her and opened up for the stream of chakra that she absorbs from her surroundings. The meanwhile familiar feeling of power overcomes her and she begins to slash an opponent after another. Kakashi's adversaries were distracted by her which he took advantage of and killed them.

In the end, only Kakashi and Manami were standing. He had a deep cut in his upper arm and his chakra reserves were almost used up. She was barely holding up because of the exhaustion of her final jutsu. They looked at each other and smiled. They did it. It was a hard fight but in the end, the winners were them.

Kakashi spoked: "We did it. We can go home now."

"Yes, but our ways are different ones."

"It doesn't have to be. Lady Tsunade is reasonable, I am sure she will pardon you for deserting, especially after you helped me here."

"Please let it be. I'm not going back with you."

He wouldn't let her go again. Not after last night. She could hate him for forcing her but he couldn't just go separate ways. He was weak after the fight, but so was she. He took out a kunai and got into a fighting stance.

"You don't let me another option. I am sorry that it has to come to this."

Manami was expecting it. She would do the same if it was the other way around. If she couldn't hold her stance against him she had a plan to win. Her Katana was lost somewhere on the battlefield, so she reached for a kunai as well.

He made the first move. He was slower than usual because of his tiredness, but she wasn't in a better condition too. She tried to block his attack as good as she could, but he got through her defenses and made a deep nasty cut to her outer thigh. He jumped back to give her some space. He hoped now that she was wounded she would give up.

"Come on Manami you are too tired to win against me. I don't want to hurt you more."

"I have said I won't go with you. I can't go, not yet!" She began to cry. "I'm sorry but I have to do this."

He was puzzled. _'What does she mean she can't go back yet?'_ He couldn't ask her what she meant because her eyes darkened and her hair began to flutter, the darkness seemed to surround her. She wouldn't use her freaking jutsu against him, would she? He had seen her fight. It seemed as though she didn't have control of the force she uses. Could he hold up to her in that estate? And would her body resist this jutsu two times in a row?

His thoughts were interrupted when something knocked him over and some other hard thing hit him hard on the back of his head and made him lose his senses.


	20. Rescue

Becas was running in her beast mode towards Konoha with Kakashi on her back unconscious and his hands tied. She was glad she could help Manami and everything worked out as she had planned. But she was getting tired because that guy on her back was heavier than Manami. But she had to bring him to the gates of Konoha or at least until he would wake up. Finally, she feels him moving. She holds abruptly and he flips over her to the ground with a grunt.

Kakashi falls hart to the ground. It wasn't enough that his head hurts, now everything was hurting too. He looks at this large feline with some respect. But somehow it looks familiar. When Becas shrinks to her normal size he remembers what happened. "So it was you who tackled me down." He said mostly to himself because he didn't expect an answer from her.

"Yes and I was the one to carry you here too, so how about a thank you?"

"So she speaks. What exactly happened?"

"Manami tricked you once again, that's what happened." And with that, she left him.

Kakashi considers going back and seeing if he could trace Manami, but he was exhausted and with the headache he had he suspects to have a concussion. So he walks to Konoha thinking about what Manami had said. ' _Why did she say she couldn't go back yet? Did she do something that would cause Tsunade not to pardon her? But if it was so then she wouldn't say yet.'_ The pain in his head didn't let him think straight so he just focused on walking and soon he saw Konoha's gates appear.

Manami was struggling with her wounded leg. She had stopped the bleeding as good as she could with the first aid kit she had with her. She thinks of Becas and if she is doing alright. She couldn't believe her plan had worked this well.

*** Flashback***

She was crying because she wanted so badly to go back with Kakashi but She couldn't. She had to make him believe she was using her final jutsu on him so he was distracted and Becas could approach him from behind. She manipulates the light so that her appearance would look like her jutsu and it worked. Kakashi was shocked looking at her and preparing himself for her attack. Becas jumped at him and Manami called her katana so the hilt would hit Kakashi's head and he would fall unconscious. It worked. She then tied his hands so that his arms were wrapped around Becas's neck and he wouldn't fall. Only after that, she attended her wound.

***End of flashback***

She was going to her nearest safe house. At least it was one of the better ones. It had a decent bathroom and even electricity. She had heard of a healer in the village next to it, he could help her with her leg. It wasn't as good as a medical-nin but was better than nothing.

* * *

Weeks later Manami was almost fit again and she had a new mission. There had been reports from sightings of Orochimaru's helpers and she had to go there and see what was happening. Once there she saw Kabuto. Following him, she got to a secret entrance to an underground facility.

After a few days of observing it, she decided she would go in. She hoped it would be empty because she saw earlier Kabuto go out and no one came in again.

With her presents hidden she ventured in. It was like a labyrinth with endless corridors. She had planned to be quick only to look what was inside but now she was curious about what they were doing here. She had reached a larger hall that had a double door and it was open. Inside were medical equipment, computers, microscopes, summing up it was a labor. While looking around, Kabuto came back. _'Shit I should better go'._

Once on her way back she felt like someone was behind her. She turned around and was scared of what she saw. There was a huge man, with no eyeballs, only its empty holes. He would put his tongue out from time to time like a snake that is 'tasting' the surroundings. If he could, Manami would say he had looked directly at her but it was impossible in more than one way. She pressed herself to the wall in hopes he would pass by her but once he did, he turned around, one of his hands reached for her. She jumped back, only barely avoiding him. _'How did he know where I was. He is blocking my passage, now I have to find another way out.'_

"Intruder! There is an intruder!" said the big man. Panic rises in Manami when she sees Kabuto and his helpers blocking the other way in the hall. There was no other option than fighting her way out. She let herself be visible again because she needed her concentration for creating the dragon fire technique. Her jutsu hits Kabuto's helpers but he could jump to the side. The huge man grasps her from behind (for his large stature he is fast). To escape from his grip Manami focuses on the chakra of the water present in the earth over her head to bring down part of the ceiling that fell over her opponent, knocking him out. Now there was only Kabuto and her.

"And who might you be?"

"I'm no one of importance and was about to leave."

"Oh no, please stay and tell how you brought the ceiling down without using hand signs." He had noticed that she didn't use hand signs. This would be handy for Orochimaru since he can't use his hands.

Manami could almost hear what he was thinking. She needed to go out and now. She couldn't use her final jutsu because she would risk bringing the walls down during fighting and could bury herself down here so she activated her Sharingan to see if they could find something that had passed by before.

Recognition hit Kabuto "Ah, now I recognize you, the beauty with the black Sharingan. Orochimaru will surely be interested in you.

From afar could be heard footsteps, she had to hurry. _'How come that there are so many people here when I only have seen Kabuto go in and out?_ ' She unsheathed her katana and without any more delay, she attacked Kabuto. He was fast, avoiding her strikes. He didn't even bother to make a counter-attack because he knew soon he would have help. The big man behind her was waking up again and with the enemy reinforcements soon Manami had been subdued.

Becas was waiting for Manami outside. When night fell she knew something had gone wrong. There's nothing she could do other than run to Konoha and alert the Hokage. Even in her beast mode she would need to run the night through and the next day only arriving the morning after, but she had to, for Manami she would give her life if needed.

* * *

Tsunade was sitting in her office for another busy day. Asuma's team was waiting outside to receive a new mission while Kakashi was with her giving his report of the last mission.

"Thank you, for your report Kakashi. You have been in a lot of missions lately so I will give you some days off, let me just see how long..."

A noise on her window interrupted her train of thought. When looking outside she saw Becas and let her in. _'This can't be good._ _Manami_ _must be in trouble.'_

"Sorry Kakashi, please wait outside until I call you"

He did as asked. As he stepped outside Asuma could see he was tens.

"Is something wrong?"

"I'm not sure."

Tsunade had for sure recognized Becas because she wouldn't open her window for a stray cat, much less sent him out. For some time he had some doubts about the reason why Manami wouldn't come back, but this new information had given him a new perspective. ' _What if she was undercover doing missions for_ _Konoha_ _?'_ That would explain her behavior. He suddenly remembered everything he did and said to her. He had already felt bad for fighting and wound her but if she was acting on orders and not because of her own will, would she forgive him? Not only for attacking her but also for believing she would abandon everyone and everything?

Tsunade opened the door and pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Shizune, find Sakura and send her asap to my office and bring some cat food when you come back." She looked at all who were outside her office and said "You all come in, we have some changes in your mission. Something more urgent came up."

Inside was Becas drinking water from a bowl. She looked exhausted.

Tsunade took her seat behind her desk and began saying.

"The situation is urgent so let me be quick. Manami has been captured by Kabuto and possibly tortured. She is a missing-nin but you know her abilities, Kakashi and Asuma, and if Orochimaru could somehow learn from her it wouldn't be good. That is why we need to save her and bring her home once and for all. Kakashi you have just arrived from a mission if you're not..."

"I'm fine." There was no way he wouldn't go to save her.

The door opened and Sakura came in with Shizune who carried a bag of cat food.

"Good, you're here. The food is for her" She pointed at Becas.

"Sakura, you will go as medical support. It is possible that Manami has been tortured and needs medical treatment. Now, we don't know how many enemies there are. Kabuto was there two days ago, but best if you count with more resistance. Kakashi you will be the team leader. Becas will lead you to Manami but she is exhausted and needs to be carried. Please be safe and bring Manami home."

Kakashi went for Becas who was still eating. "Do you need more time?"

"No," she said with a full mouth, "but bring some food with you please." He picked her up and put some food in one of his pockets. Once outside they moved out quickly. _'Hold on_ _Manami_ _we are coming'._

Becas had indicated the way and fell asleep in Kakashi's arms right away. He was never especially fond of her. She would always look at him with judgemental eyes but it seemed she would do as much as he would for Manami and he respects her for that. And truth be said, she was a cute cat as long as she didn't turn into that giant form of hers.

* * *

It had been three days since Manami had been captured by Kabuto but for her, it could have been weeks. She had been knocked out by that big no-eyeballs guy. When she awoke she was tied to a chair and Kabuto was injecting something in her veins which made her feel groggy and impossible to focus enough to form a clear thought or gather chakra.

He then began to ask her questions about her abilities, how she collapsed the ceiling without using hand sight, her Sharingan, and so on. She would just be quiet, not trusting her estate to even make a smart comment.

When he saw she wouldn't answer that's when he began to torture her. First, he had electrocuted her. The smell of burned skin filled the air even after he was done with her. She just lay there, drool coming off her mouth, eyes open with no reaction.

He let her rest enough for him to begin the interrogation again. But she still refused to answer. His next torture was drowning. For Manami, this was even worse. The pain she could handle but not being able to breathe made her panic. Then the water would get in her lungs, stinging inside of her. But even so, she wouldn't talk.

Next came beating. The big guy used her as a punching bag. Afterward, there was no free spot of her body that wasn't blue, but still no words from her. Kabuto was becoming furious and began to break her bones, starting with her fingers. The only sound that came out of her mouth was her screams. There was no way she would help Orochimaru even if that means she had to die.

Kabuto had healed her bones enough so she wouldn't blackout. He didn't want that. Orochimaru would be there in some days and he wanted to show him results, and that he couldn't if Manami was unconscious. Afterward, he left her alone so she could rest for a bit.

The drug he had given her must have lost some of its effects because Manami could come up with a plan. It wasn't one to escape physically. She had seen her reflex in the polished equipment. She could use her Sharingan to put her under a genjutsu. It would be risky, she could become trapped never to wake again or suffer some brain damage if someone would force himself in her mind, but that was better them this torture. She forced herself to focus and activated her Sharingan. She looked at her eyes in the reflection and that was the last thing she saw.

* * *

"Kakashi, slow down, we can't almost hold up with you." Asuma was worried about his friend. He hadn't said a word since departure. It had been one day since they had left Konoha and had almost another one to go. Kakashi was pushing them hard. He was scared that they might be late.

"If we keep up this pace we won't have the strength to rescue Manami."

"You're right." He slowed down a bit.

Shikamaru was curious "Who is this Manami and what are her abilities?"

Asuma looked at Kakashi but he didn't seem like he would answer. "She was in ANBU before she deserted. She can manipulate chakra without using hand signs and has some sort of black Sharingan."

Sakura approached the younger members of Team Asuma, in a hushed voice so the Jonins wouldn't hear her. She said "I met her once, she had slaughtered some men when sensei Kakashi caught her, but she escaped. I have heard them speak and it seemed as if they were close once."

Ino was the most interested in gossip "Do you think she was his girlfriend"

"It would be possible. He was mad when she escaped. I had never seen him like that before, so scary..."

"Do you know why she deserted?" asked Choji.

"No, I have no idea."

* * *

After another day they reached the facility. "Are you sure you can find her?" Kakashi asked Becas.

"Yes, I am always able to find her. We are linked somehow."

"Ok, then we will stick together. We don't know how many enemies we will encounter. This will be the safest way."

Becas was leading the way. There were so many corridors, but she could feel Manami further ahead. They moved slowly without making noises and eventually they reached a door and Becas said "She is behind this door."

Kakashi puts his ear on it and listens. He heard nothing. He opened the door and saw Manami on a hospital bed. There were electrodes on her head and a radiography of a brain hanging on the wall. He approached her. She seemed to be asleep. He called for Sakura so she could examine her and evaluate her health. She was completely beaten up. "She has some bone fractures that aren't completely healed and of course the bruises on her body, but she can be moved." She removed the electrons from her head and Kakashi picked her up carefully.

"Kakashi, hurry up, someone is coming" Asuma hurried his friend.

Kakashi moved as fast as he could to the exit. To block whoever it was who was coming, Choji used his body expanding technique to bring down the ceiling and they escaped out of that place without incident.

Asuma couldn't believe they got out with Manami without any enemy encounter. It was good to have the luck on there said, once in a while.


	21. Pardoned

It was almost afternoon when they reached Konoha. Kakashi had carried Manami all the way home although he was visibly becoming tired.

He had been away from her for so long that he needed to hold her in fear she would somehow disappear again.

Tsunade had healed the rest of her wounds and broken bones, but the burnings, which had probably resulted from electric shock, couldn't be healed completely. Kakashi had been waiting outside the room worried all the time. When Tsunade came out he stood up and asked about her.

"She is fine now, she can wake up at any time. But she is been through some harsh torture and may take a while."

"Thank you." He hesitated a bit but in the end, asked her. "Lady Tsunade, if I may ask, how did you know Becas when she came to ask help for Manami?"

Tsunade thought about her answer first. Since the mission with the rogue experiments, she had suspected that those two had some history, or at least that he had a soft spot for her. She wanted to say to him, tell what Manami did for Konoha all these years and how proud she was of her, but it was all classified by the Third Hokage and it didn't feel right breaking his trust even after his death. But Kakashi was smart, he would understand if she would give hints.

"We have been introduced. She was to report to me when trouble would appear. More I cannot say. You know how it is when something is to stay secret." She winked at him and he nodded in understanding.

"I assume the reason why Manami left is classified as well?"

"I can't tell you that" Tsunade smiled at him. She knew he had got the hint.

With that, she had said enough for him to understand. So Manami did leave Konoha because of a mission.

"Thank you." He said and was about to step inside the room with the intent to stay by Manami's side until she would wake up, but Tsunade said to him.

"Kakashi, go home and rest. You look tired. She will be fine."

"I'm ok"

"Look this is a hospital and you are all dirty. At least go get a shower and put on some clean clothes on."

He exhaled in frustration. He really didn't want to leave Manami's side, but Tsunade was right. So he went home for a quick shower and changed clothes.

* * *

Some days later, Manami was still unconscious. Kakashi only left her side to attend to his basic needs, most of the time he would do that when her parents were visiting her. It didn't feel right to intrude himself in their family.

He knew there was gossip about his attitude towards her, and one of the sources was his former pink-haired student. Every time she would check after Manami she would glance at him eager to make some questions but thank God she was too scared of him to actually ask.

Later Tsunade came in to check on Manami. Kakashi put his book aside and stepped next to her.

"Any change?"

"No. Her body is healed, that's why I think there must be something wrong in her mind. I have asked Inoichi if he can evaluate her mental estate. I just wanted to see her before one of his men comes to pick her up."

"Is he using his machine?" She nodded. "Can I go with her?"

"As long as Inoichi is okay with that, I'm too." She looked at the copy ninja who she had known for some time.

"You like her don't you?"

Kakashi blushed lightly. He doesn't talk about his feelings. He had never admitted out loud that he liked Manami and the words wouldn't want to leave his mouth to answer Tsunade.

She smiled at him "You don't need to say, It shows." and left the room leaving an embarrassed Kakashi behind.

Soon one of the intelligence divisions came to pick up Manami. Sakura would accompany them to look after her.

Manami was put in the mind reading amplification machine and Inoichi began to work.

* * *

It was night, a warm and clear night. The view from the mountain over the city was breathtaking. Manami was on the hill that she had shown Kakashi in the other world. She loved that place. When she would drive out there was because she was restless or unhappy or something like that, but after a while on that spot, she would feel much better. It was her happy place or, one could also say, her safe place.

She was alone for some time now. She didn't mind. It was peaceful and quiet. But in a sudden, she feels a presence behind her. She looked around and saw her old sensei.

"Sensei Inoichi, what are you doing here?" She asked, surprised. He looked tired.

A bit out of breath he said "Finally I found you. You made it hard to find you."

"What do you mean?"

"You don't remember? Of course not, you were trying to escape the pain..."

"Escape the pain? I can't follow you."

He moved closer to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Manami, I'm sorry to say that but you have been captured and tortured for some time. From the trials I had to face to reach your subconscious I think you have put yourself in a genjutsu with your Sharingan. You have created a loophole so I could slip in to bring you back to reality."

In front of Manami's eyes flickered some images. There was a white light that burned her skin. She screamed only with the memory, her legs no longer sustaining her and she fell to the ground. New images surged and she was now underwater, her hair floating in front of her eyes and she couldn't breathe. Next came the pain in every part of her body...

Inoichi brought her back. He was hugging her, trying to comfort her. "It's ok, you're safe now. You are back in Konoha."

She was in Konoha, she was home. Peace floated once again through her.

"How can I go back? How can I escape this genjutsu."

"I should have opened the way for you. But you will need a bit of time, your mind that is. I think Kabuto tried by force invade your mind and in the process made some damage to your memory. I think that you will have some struggle with your short-time memory. Hopefully, there are only some bits and pieces missing, but you could also not remember the events of some years ago. But in time you should be able to restore them again."

"So what exactly do I do now?"

"You wait until the way out is shown to you. I will go now. See you later in the real world."

* * *

Inoichi was coming back to him and Kakashi didn't wait for a second to ask what had happened.

"She was trapped inside her own genjutsu probably to escape the pain. Since she cast it with her Sharingan, Kabuto couldn't break her out. I could only reach her because she made a loophole for me to get in. She knew she would only be safe back here. But Kabuto must have tried to get inside her head and I'm concerned about the damage he has done to her memory. When she wakes she can have some memory loss."

"Not entirely good news then."

"No, but I think with time she should recover."

The next day Kakashi was in his seat by Manami's bedside when she began to wake up.

She was confused _'where am I?'_ When she saw Kakashi She got nervous. _'No I have been caught, how did that happen?'_

Kakashi was unaware of her struggle, he was only happy to see her eyes open again.

"Hey you, how do you feel?" He said sweetly.

She took a hand to her head, it was hurting. She couldn't figure out what had happened and how she got caught.

"I..." She began but her throat was scratchy and dry. She saw a glass and a jar of water next to her bed. She reached for it but her hand was shaking so Kakashi helped her. He poured some water in the glass. With a hand on the back of Manami, he helped lift herself up and put the glass to her lips so she would drink. It was no surprise she was weak. It had been over a week since she was in that bed without eating or moving, her muscles weren't ready to move.

"Better now?"

She nodded surprised how kind he was to her. Had she been near death or something?

"My head hurts. What happened, how did I end up here?"

"What do you remember?"

She thought for a bit, with her headache it wasn't easy to think. She remembered the events with the freelancers but she couldn't talk to Kakashi about them. The Hokage had ordered her to lay low. Then she was sent to support a genin team, it was Guy's team... "I remember encountering Guy's team I think last week? I helped them out..."

Kakashi remembered Guy telling him this. It was before he had encountered her with his team almost two years ago. Inoichi had told she could have up to five years of lost memory so two years was not the worst case.

"I see if I can find someone to bring Tsunade here, I'm sure she wants to see you."

Manami couldn't figure out why she was there but she remembered her duties. The Hokage didn't want her to come back to Konoha yet so she had to escape to continue her mission. She tried to get up but her legs were weak. ' _Come on, you can do this.'_ She forced herself out of bed and was about to open the window when Kakashi came back.

"Hey what are you doing? You have to stay put."

"Please Kakashi I need to go."

He put her back to the bed. She was so weak and still tried to continue her mission.

"You don't have to run anymore. The council has already judged your crimes when you were unconscious. They have decided to pardon you, you are no longer a missing-nin."

Manami's eyes got big in surprise "What?" She was happy about that news. A tear of joy escaped her eye and was running down her cheek. She didn't have to run anymore. This was the best news she could get.

Kakashi brushed off the tear, happy to see her relax. He had time to think about what he would say to her when she would wake up. But she had lost the memory of the night they shared so he had to change some things he wanted to say. He got nervous only to think about how she would react to him confessing to her. But he couldn't do it now. She wasn't completely well yet.

Kakashi was chicken out. He had never handled well his feelings. So he was glad when Tsunade came in. He had an excuse to postpone his confession.

"You are finally awake, good. How do you feel?"

Manami thought that Tsunade was just another doctor. "My head hurts quite a lot but overall I think I'm fine."

"It seems she has lost about two years of memory." Added Kakashi.

Manami was surprised "I what?"

"Do you know who I am?" Asked Tsunade.

"A doctor I assume?"

"Kakashi can you please wait outside?"

Tsunade began to explain the situation to Manami, how she got captured by Kabuto, how Inoichi had foreseen the memory loss, and that it should only be temporary. She told about the events at the chunin exams that she was now the Hokage and how she had pardoned her for deserting. "You don't have to run anymore now."

Manami had some struggle to take in every information in her current state. She had lost two years. Well, if they had been like the two before it wasn't so bad she had forgotten. The time as a deserter was hard. She just focused on the good parts. She was home again.

"You should rest now. If your parents come at the same time as the other days, they should be here in a half-hour."

She left the room and was surprised not to see Kakashi on the outside.

He wanted to tell Manami so much. His feelings, how sorry he was to believe she had deserted, for giving her so much trouble in completing her mission, for attacking her and wounding her... He had done her so much wrong. How could she forgive him? He could take advantage of her missing memory of some things he had done to her but he wanted to be honest with her so he couldn't talk to her now. She needed to recover. He would give her space. For now, he was just happy that she was back and awake.


	22. And life goes on

Manami was back in her old apartment. It had been in the agreement that the Hokage would pay for it so she would still have a place for the stuff she left behind. It had been over a week since she got out of the hospital. She had been with her family, it scared her how much her niece had grown. Only then hits her that two years of her memory were missing. Konoha was a bit different. She heard about the destruction while the chunin exams and her parents told her she had been there to help rebuild it. At first, she didn't mind the two years she had forgotten but now she wondered what else she had done in that time. But she knew her memories were still in her brain. At night she would wake up screaming in pain because she dreamed of the torture she went through.

She was reluctant to go outside, the people just loved to gossip and more than once she saw people pointing at her and shaking their heads. "I just can't understand how the Hokage could pardon her. She has left her responsibilities and now she just comes back without a punishment." It would take some time until they would find someone else to gossip about.

She hadn't had the courage to speak to her friends yet. She was scared of their reaction and what they may think of her. Kakashi had been nice to her at the hospital, but since then she hadn't seen him. He wasn't the entire time on missions, she had seen him from afar on the marketplace.

She had just finished showering and was putting on some clothes when the doorbell rang. Before she could finish and open the door they rang it again. "I'm coming, just a second!" But however it was, they didn't wait for her. As she was about to exit her bedroom someone assaulted her with a bone-crushing hug. It was Genma.

"I just came back from a mission when I heard you were back. What took you so long?"

"Genma I can't breathe..."

He broke the hug and gave her some space. She took his hand and led them to the couch. "I'm sorry for yelling at you before I left. I felt bad for it."

"Don't worry about it, it was a long time ago. How are you feeling? I have heard you were tortured?"

She told him everything she could and remembered about the last four years. In the end, she felt like she had to justify herself for her actions. "I left because I wasn't feeling good here with all that had happened with Migeru and how his family was treating me. And as time passed I just enjoyed my freedom and I was scared of what would happen to me if I would come back."

"Bulshit, I don't believe you decided to leave. I understand that you were in a bad place because of the death of Migeru but I know you. You would never leave your responsibilities. Now, I understand that it may be classified and you can't tell me but please don't try to convince me again that you have voluntarily deserted."

Manami was so glad that he knew her so well and that he hadn't lost his trust in her. She hugged him and shattered some tears of happiness. She could always count on Genma, she had to know it better that he couldn't be fooled by her.

Genma wanted to get her out of the house. "So now that we have said everything to each other, let's go out tonight. Let's get dinner together and then hit the bar."

"I'm in on the dinner but I'm not up to go to the bar. I'm still not ready to face everyone. Not all know me so well as you do and most will probably resent me for deserting."

"I can't change how others think, but I can always punch them in the face if they talk shit about you."

She laughed and ended up agreeing to go out with him.

They went to Yakiniku Q. The food was good as was the company.

"So what's going on with you and Kakashi?"

That took Manami by surprise. "What do you mean?"

"Well Kakashi and Asuma's team were the ones to rescue you from Kabuto and Asuma told me that Kakashi carried you all the way back. It was over two days from Konoha. And while you were in the hospital he never left your side."

"Well, he probably wanted to be sure I wouldn't run away again. When I left he caught up to one of my clones and wasn't happy when he found out it wasn't the real me."

"You may not know this but when you came back from that long mission of yours, Kakashi began to interact more with us. He rarely hung with us and the nights you were going out, he would go too. But when you left again, he got back to his old self. But it got worse after the Uchiha massacre. Itachi was kind of his pupil and his betrayal hit Kakashi hard and then added to yours... Only after he began as a sensei did he change again. Now he is much open, well he is still Kakashi but we can see he has changed."

Manami let what Genma said sink in. "We have kissed." She could trust Genma with that.

Genma took a sip of his beer to hide his grin. "I knew something had happened. So spill out the juicy stuff."

"The day before I left, I was upset and hurt my hands. Kakashi took me to his apartment to clean my wounds. We talked about what had happened the night before, how I hurt my head, and, well, my emotional problems to resume things up. I was crying and he was comforting me. Our eyes met and it just happened. I left during that night and I know I hurt him with that. He may or may not have feelings until today, but after what I did to him, I doubt he still wants something to do with me."

Genma thought about what she said. "You know, it seems you have the habit of kissing and run away."

"Haha, you're an idiot, but you're right. I have done it twice now, don't I?"

"You know, feelings are tricky. You can't control them and turn them on or off. If Kakashi fell for you, even after you hurt him, he may still have feelings. The question would be if he acts on them or not."

"Well it doesn't matter if he has or hasn't, I'm not interested in a relationship anyway. In our business, we can die on every mission we go on. How can a relationship withstand so much stress? Best to be alone and have fun, enjoying life as long as we can."

"Amen sister. I think that's why we are so good friends. We are just alike. Out of curiosity, what does Kakashi look like?"

Manami smiled and blushed a bit just thinking about how Kakashi looked like. "He really doesn't have a reason to hide his face. The only one would be for not getting attention from women."

"My dear friend, I would say you have fallen for him too." Genma laughed at the expression Manami made and her face became all red.

"No, I have not." She denied but wasn't very convincing and Genma just laughed harder.

"You're in denial I would say."

Manami didn't say anything, not trusting her body to not betray her. But she thought about it. Yes Kakashi was hot and she enjoyed his company, but as she said, she had no intention for another relationship.

After dinner, they were the first ones to arrive at the bar but Asuma and Kurenai came right after them.

Asuma pulled her up from her seat and hugged her. "Look how's finally back. I can't believe it took you so long to show up." After he released her Kurenai surprisingly hugged her too.

"Welcome back."

Manami was positively shocked. "Thank you guys, it means a lot to me." She could cry from relief. She never thought she would be this welcomed.

Later came the other two members from Genma's old team. Guy hugged her too "Don't ever leave us again, you hear? You have been away far too long." Ebisu's enthusiasm on the other hand was more reserved. When Anko arrived she was just herself and convinced Manami to buy her some shots to celebrate her coming back.

They decided to have some fun and play 'Never have I ever'. Just after the first round, Kakashi showed up. He just ignored Manami and sat between Ebisu and Anko. The game went on and it was Anko's turn.

"Ok, it's time to see who won the bet... Never have I ever slept with Genma."

Everyone turned to Manami. She smiled and reached for her glass. "I can't believe you haven't figured it out yet." She drank and Anko celebrated.

"Uhu, I was right!"

The questions went on, they had fun but Manami was getting tired since she hadn't slept well the past nights. "Ok guys this will be my last round." They all agreed it would also be their. The bottle spun and stopped in front of Guy.

"Never have I ever..." he started, but with the nerves of the responsibility to have the last question, he didn't know what to ask.

"Come on guy spill it out."

"... seen Kakashi's face." was all he could think about.

Anko was angry "seriously Guy? This is your last question?"

Genma, on the other hand, grinned. He looked at Manami who was reaching for her cup before he looked at the other to see their reaction. They were all surprised.

Kurenai was the first to comment. "Interesting, how did that happen?"

Manami smiled wickedly, got up, and before leaving just said "That would be a question for truth or dare. I'm going home now. Good night guys." Before someone could question her further she teleported herself out of there.

Now everyone turned to Kakashi. He sweatdropped and said quickly "Look at the time, I should have been in bed a long time ago."

"Not that fast," said Anko while trying to get a hold on Kakashi's hands so he couldn't perform a teleportation jutsu like Manami. "Stay and tell us how comes Manami has seen your face."

He shrugged and said simply "I showed it to her." And with that, he evaded Anko and teleported himself out of there.

"This has been interesting but I go home too." Said Genma, but Kurenai stopped him.

"You are Manami's best friend, did you know this?"

"I don't know everything about Manami's life." He evaded the question and left right away.

* * *

Tonight Manami had slept better, possibly because of the alcohol she had last night. She decided she would do more intense training today. Since she was back she had taken it slow, but today she wanted to push herself again.

She was on training ground 4 practicing her moves with her Katana when Kakashi showed up. One hand he had in his pocket the other he lifted for greeting her with a closed eye smile.

"Hi." He said simply.

Manami was still hurt that he didn't acknowledge her last night and now with him acting as nothing had happened, she became pissed at him.

"If you have something to tell me, say it quickly. If not then get out of my way or prepare yourself to fight me." She said sour.

"Fair enough." He reached for his weapon pouch and took out a kunai, taking a fighting stance.

To be a fair fight, Manami put her Katana aside and took a kunai too. Then she was the first to attack. She was frustrated at the white-haired shinobi. She just couldn't understand him. Genma believed he had feelings for her, but last night he acted as if those feelings were of hate or at least disdain. And now he showed up here acting all normal.

Her moves were fast and strong. Kakashi could actually only defend himself. He regretted not putting up his forehead protector so he could use his Sharingan. _'Dammit, why is she so pissed?'_

Kakashi focused and was gaining an advantage over her but she wouldn't give up. She was committed to winning. She took another kunai and launched herself at Kakashi, the sparkles flew with each collision of the weapons.

Kakashi lowered himself and swiped the floor trying to hit Manami's legs but she flipped backward.

One of her kunai is thrown at him which he sidesteps but Manami is again on top of him attacking.

He blocks her hit but she brings her knee to his open side.

Mimicking his floor swipe she brings him effectively to the ground and launches herself on top of him stabbing her kunai next to his face on the ground. If this would be a real fight the kunai would be in his head or throat and he would be dead.

She stayed on top of him trying to catch her breath before she would move, but Kakashi turned them around pinning her to the ground, his hands holding hers down. He looked her in the eyes trying to read her. She was furious but also hurt? Without even noticing it, Kakashi approached his face to hers.

Her heart skipped a beat. What was he doing? With her legs, she reached for his upper body and pushed him off of her. She was again ready to fight when he lifted his hands.

"I'm sorry about that, you had won." He put his hands in his pockets and added "You were hitting hard today is everything alright?"

Manami couldn't believe that he would just talk as if everything were normal between them. It's not like she has been away for four fucking years, that he had ignored her the last night and that he was just about to kiss her or whatever he was doing with his face right next to hers. Now he was just standing there waiting for her answer with his hands in his pockets again. His indifference infuriated her and she couldn't even understand why.

"Of course everything is alright! It's not like the people are talking trash about me or that I have forgotten two years of my life! Do you know how it feels when I look at myself in the mirror and see how my body changed, the new scars I have and not even know how I got them?" _'The nightmares of torture that don't let me sleep'_ she thinks. She had all those things inside her head and didn't even know how much they were bothering her. Only now that she had said it out loud she understands why she was so frustrated.

Tears of anger were running down her face and she hated that Kakashi would see her like that. She didn't want to bother him with her problems and turned around ready to leave, but Kakashi didn't let her go. He had hugged her from behind and said "Hey it's ok. Just let it all out."

His words only opened up the river of tears she was fighting to hold back. He turned her around and hugged her, caressing her back until she would calm down.

With puffy eyes and a running nose, she stepped back from Kakashi.

"I'm sorry to let it out on you. You probably hate me and now you are comforting me."

"I don't hate you, why would you think that?"

"Because I deserted, I left my responsibilities and that is something that you abominate."

"To be honest, there was a time I hated you for that." _'More because you had left me and not for running away.'_ "But as time passed by and I thought of what you said I understand that something didn't add up, that you didn't leave in free will."

_'All the trouble I had and in the end, I couldn't even convince someone that I had freely deserted?_ '

She said nothing, she couldn't confirm his suspicions, after all, so he continued.

"I should be the one to apologize to you actually."

She was confused "Why would you need to do that?"

"You don't remember but we have crossed paths, two times actually."

"Ok, and what happened for you to feel the need to apologize?"

"On our second encounter you helped me fight a group of rough experiments from Orochimaru and after that I attacked you. I cut your oughter tight. If you have a scar there then you know now it was me."

She had seen that scar. It was relatively new and it must have been a deep cut. No wonder Kakashi felt the need to apologize. "It's ok, you were probably only doing your duty."

There was so much more he wanted to tell her, about the night they spent together, how he fell for her and that he knew she didn't desert, but it seemed like destiny had other plans or at least the force that was Might Guy had other plans.

He came running in their direction, with a cloud of dust behind him."Finally, I found you my eternal Rival." He turned to Manami "Hello, beautiful flower you look marvelous today as always." now back to Kakashi "I challenge you for a run, we have a score to untie!"

Kakashi wasn't in the mood for that. Why was Guy always so eccentric that he didn't even notice that he was interrupting something.

But for Manami, it was a welcoming distraction. She was done feeling down and needed something to take her mind away from her problems. She had that habit to push bad things aside. They would eventually come back and bite her in the ass as they did just moments ago, but she would never learn to deal with her problems. That was just a part of who she was.

"Oh, I can be the arbitrator." She jumped with excitement.

Kakashi let his head fall in disbelief. Here he was almost confessing to Manami and she just ignores his feelings like that. Well, at least he would take out his frustration on Guy.

"Ok Guy, one round around Konoha. The first who is back here wins."

They took their places and Manami would give the go. "Ready, set, GO!"


	23. Flower festival

It was still in the middle of the night when Manami woke up drowning in sweat and screaming because of her nightmares. She had thought she would sleep well since she was tired of her training and the fight with Kakashi. She couldn't take her mind of the images of pain and torture, so she got up and to the kitchen feeling still exhausted. She reached for the bottle of sake and a shot glass. It wouldn't hurt to drink one or two shots, or five... She got up from the chair and felt the walls and floor spinning. She got back to her bed and let sleep take over her again.

The morning came and Manami felt on edge. After her outburst with Kakashi, the things she said occupied her thoughts. She wanted to be alone today, not talking to anyone, and she had a feeling that Kakashi had some more things to say to her. But she couldn't take more drama right now. First, she had to deal with the problems she was trying to deny. The training helped her always so she would go to the forty-fourth training ground, the forest of death. There she would probably be alone. But before she went there she bought some bottles of sake and a pack of cigarettes.

The days passed by and Manami could effectively evade everyone. She was on vacation given by the Hokage, but she was getting bored. She decided it would be best to keep busy so she went to Lady Tsunade and asked if she had a mission for her.

"Are you sure you want to go on missions already?"

"Yes, I don't think that my memory loss will interfere with my performance and I am just bored here in the village."

"As you wish. I actually have a mission that would suit you. There have been rumors from Amegakure that Hanzo is no longer the leader, even that he may be dead. I want to know if there is something true about those rumors. You would go there with the intent to give them the invitation for the next chunin exams."

"Sounds simple enough."

"Be aware, the security in Amegakure is extremely high. But you and Kakashi shouldn't have any problem."

"Kakashi?" Manami said incredulously. _'Seriously is there no other shinobi than him in this village?_ '

"Yes, I was about to send him alone but it is for the best if you go together."

A knock on the door was heard "That should be him."

Kakashi entered the office. He nodded at Manami to acknowledge her presence and greet Tsunade. "Are you busy? Should I wait outside?"

"No, no I was just debriefing Manami, you are about to leave together on this mission."

* * *

On the way, they didn't speak much. Kakashi had decided he would approach Manami differently. Since her outburst, he knew she needed to deal with her problems first and he had asked Genma for advice...

***Flashback***

Kakashi didn't know what he should do with Manami. He knew that sometimes women were complicated but he never felt the need to understand them before. After the outburst from her, it was maybe a good thing Guy had appeared. If he would have confessed to her she would probably not react in the best way. But who could he ask for advice? Kurenai would probably help him but the next day half of Konoha would know his intentions. Maybe Genma. He was a guy, he would understand his struggle and he was her best friend.

Kakashi asked Shizune if he was on a mission and she said no. He wasn't at home and it was an early night, so Kakashi looked for him at the bars. When he found him he was drinking at a table alone looking around. Probably for a girl to take home for the night, well, more for going to her place for some hours. Kakashi wasn't judging him, he had done it too only disguised. Manami was the only one who knew she had slept with him, at least she would know if she remembered.

"Yo, how's it going?"

"Hey Kakashi, not good. Konoha just hasn't enough women... So what are you doing here?"

"I was actually searching for you." Genma lifted an eyebrow in question. "I need advice."

"Well, you came to the right place. So what's your problem?"

"Manami."

"Oh, this is going to be interesting." Genma smiled and put a senbon in his mouth, turning his full attention to his friend.

Kakashi thought about how to approach his question. Scratching his neck he began. "I kind of fell for her and don't know how to tell her."

"You don't say." Genma was amused. "That is old news, my friend. It has been obvious for quite a while now."

"Really? Do you think she knows?"

"Yes she knows, but she tries to convince herself you don't"

"Why? That doesn't make any sense."

"I know, but for her it does. Look, Manami isn't looking for a relationship. If you would confess to her, that would scare her away although she likes you too."

Kakashi had suspected that she had feelings for him too, but if that was so why didn't she want to acknowledge his feelings for her? "That still doesn't make sense."

"Look I'm probably not the best to give you relationship advice, but if you want to win her over then you have to have patience. Go out with her, have a good time together but don't talk about your feelings directly until she does it first."

Kakashi had thought about what Genma said. It didn't make complete sense but he would try it.

***End of flashback***

They were resting now, tomorrow they would get to Amegakure and they needed to be on alert. Manami reached for her cigarettes.

"Does it bother you if I smoke? I can go further away if it does."

Kakashi looked at her surprise. "No, it's no problem for me. I didn't know you smoked."

"In the other world, I did from time to time. Mostly if I would be around smokers or if I was stressed. The other day I just felt like buying a package."

Kakashi said he would take the first watch and that she should rest. She was scared that she might wake up screaming because of her nightmares. That's why she had brought some sake in a water bottle and drank a bit before making herself comfortable to sleep. Kakashi thought that he had smelled alcohol but wasn't sure and said nothing...

The mission wasn't a success. They didn't discover anything. After giving the invitation for the chunin exams they stayed in the city but the security was on them so they left before they could be discovered and cause problems for Konoha.

They finished reporting to Tsunade and were leaving the Hokage's Tower. Kakashi looked at Manami and started casually talking.

"So the flower festival begins tonight, are you going?"

Manami's face lit up. "Yes, I haven't been in one for ages. No way I'm going to miss it."

Kakashi smiled to himself seeing how happy she got. "Do you wanna eat something before going?"

"Yeah, I don't feel like cooking tonight."

"Ok, I pick you up around 18h so we can get early to the festival. See you later." He teleported himself away before Manami could say something more or eventually refuse his invitation.

She holds in her way _'did he just invite me on a date or just as friends?'_

She walked the rest of her way home thinking about what Kakashi's intentions were. She hoped he wouldn't get false hopes for the dinner and expect it to be a romantic date...

He was late. Well, to be fair he was only 5 minutes late and Manami didn't expect that. She had just finished showering when he rang the doorbell. She runs to her bedroom and screams at the door. "It's open, come in."

Kakashi stepped in "Manami?"

"Just a second, I'm still getting dressed. I was expecting you to be late. Make yourself comfortable on the couch."

She put on a blouse and some jeans. She would love to put on a dress but it was spring and the nights would still be cold. She took a leather jacket for later and joined Kakashi in the living room. She was relieved to see him in his usual ninja clothes, that would mean this wasn't a date for him.

When Kakashi saw her, he put his book away and got up. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes, sorry for making you wait."

"No, it's just fair for me to once and a while waiting for the others." He gave her a closed eye smile.

They headed out.

"Where are we going to eat?" Asked Manami.

"I thought maybe Ishiraku wouldn't take long."

It was perfect for Manami. She liked ramen and it wasn't a romantic dinner place, perfect for just two friends.

Kakashi chooses to sit in a corner, facing the wall and Manami sits in front of him. They gave their order and were left alone.

"Please tell me when someone approached us." He took down his mask.

Manami by seeing his face blushed lightly.

"Why do you cover your face?" She said bluntly. "I'm sorry it just came out..."

"No, no problem. I don't really know. As a kid, I began to cover up because I thought it was cool for a shinobi to hide his true identity and somehow I stuck to it. Now I feel a bit naked without it."

"I wasn't expecting you to take it off in front of me, I only saw your face one."

He smiled. "Well, technically you have seen it twice..."

Ayame brought their food (Kakashi put up his mask). She then cleaned the table next to them but let fall a bowl, it fell to the ground and shattered.

The sound it made provoked some images to flicker in front of Manami's mind

'Kakashi's lips were traveling from hers down her neck, his hands all over her body.' As quickly as the images appeared they disappeared too but they left her quite aroused. _'What the hell was that?'_

Kakashi looked at her curiously. "Is everything alright?"

She had to clear her voice before speaking. "Yes, I just got scared by the sound... What were we talking about? Ah, yes, you were telling me about the second time I saw your face?"

"Well, it was the second time I met you while you were away, that time you helped me fight Orochimaru's experiments. It was almost night when I arrived there and you had a safehouse nearby so before we attacked them we rested. It was during our dinner that I took it off too." He wouldn't tell her that they slept together. She would remember eventually.

"It's so strange to hear from another person what I did and having no memories of it. And what happened the first time we met?"

Kakashi told her the story.

They walked side by side to the festival. Manami acted like a little girl all excited. "Look how pretty everything looks."

Kakashi just gave her a closed eye smile.

She was full of ramen but had always room for dessert. She was eating Donguri Ame. "This is so good, do you wanna try?"

Kakashi looked around, there were only a few people nearby so he covered his face with one hand and the other pulled his mask down while Manami fed him. He was distracted by her presents so he didn't notice that they were watched by Sakura, Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji.

Sakura was grabbing Ino's arm. "Sensei Kakashi and Manami-san are definitely together. I can't believe we didn't see his face."

"Calmer down Sakura or else they are going to notice us." Said Shikamaru. He was only interested in Kakashi's face and not who he was dating.

On the other hand, Ino shared Sakura's enthusiasm. "Do you think sensei Asuma knows something about them? We can ask him since he is less scary than your sensei."

Choji wasn't at all interested in the adults. He preferred to eat some food.

Kakashi and Manami continued to enjoy the festival and each other's company.

"Look Kakashi, a Ferris wheel. Let's get a ride."

"Sure why not."

The view was beautiful.

"Look we can see my apartment from here." She pointed.

Kakashi noticed she was shaking from the cold.

"Your shaking, come let me warm you up." He put an arm over her shoulder and pushed her to him. She began right away heating up but not only because of his body heat...

The ride was over and it was becoming late.

"That was fun but I'm getting tired. With the mission we had and all."

Kakashi kept his arm around her since she didn't protest. "Yes, I'm too. Let me bring you home then."

Manami protested but since he insisted and his warmth was so good she ended up letting him accompany her. "Are you aware that we are followed?"

"Yes, I think they are for quite a while now." Kakashi had eventually noticed their followers. Now there were only the girls behind them since the boys preferred to spend their time doing something else.

They had reached her apartment door. "Do you wanna give them a scare?"

"How? What do you have in mind?"

"Hold still like that."

She created an image of them as they were then held Kakashi's hand so she would know where he was and could conceal their presence. They went behind the young Kunoichis and Manami stopped hiding them but kept their image at the door. They appeared right next to the girls.

"What are you two looking at?" Now she dissolved the image. The two jumped with a scare.

"We were just..." They tried to say.

Kakashi put in a dark expression. "Don't you know how impolite it is to spy on others?"

"We are so sorry. We promise to never do it again." And run as fast as they could away.

Manami burst out in laughter.

"That was fun. Did you see how scared they were?"

"I think I never saw Sakura run this fast."

They said goodbye and Manami got inside while Kakashi walked home.

Once home she began to undress and put her pajamas on. She still had a smile on her lips. ' _Today was a fun evening. Kakashi was so sweet. No! What are you thinking? He is just a friend. You want nothing more than that.'_ She tried to convince herself...


	24. Bad addiction

Kakashi was walking home. He wanted to enjoy the feeling he still had from holding Manami. This was a good night. It would only be better if he could have kissed her, or even better, stay the night with her.

Only one thing bothered him. Her smoking. She didn't have smoked much, only one after dinner, but it was enough for the smell of cigarettes to linger on her. But it wasn't that what concerned him. It was that she said she used to smoke when she was stressed. Was that the reason she had begun now again? Her memory loss must be harder for her to deal with than what she let show. Or was there another reason? He needed to find a way to help her...

* * *

Manami was dreaming.

_'Kakashi was at her place, they were cooking together and being silly. She was about to throw him a cloth when he grabbed her wrist and pushed her into a wall. Their lips met hungry for one another, hands exploring each other's body. A flash of light caught her attention. He had activated his_ _Chidori_ _._

_Pain filled her body when electricity burned her skin. Kakashi had a dark expression before he began to turn into Kabuto._

_She was now in a laboratory. Cold metal under her naked skin. The flickering light was replaced with water while she couldn't breathe. The sound of her bones breaking could be heard before her scream could leave her throat.'_

She wakes up screaming. (Her neighbors must love her.)

She stumbled out of bed with the strange sensation still in her bones.

She went to the kitchen, grabbed her bottle of sake, and a pack of cigarettes. With a blanket, she sat on her balcony.

Genma was walking home from a night of fun. He saw the light turn on in Manami's apartment and soon she stepped outside. He changed his directory and jumped to her balcony.

Manami jumped when he landed next to her. "What the fuck Genma do you wanna kill me. What a scare."

He saw the bottle and that she was smoking. Not usual for her. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, sure."

He knew her friend well. She wouldn't talk about her problems easily, he had to poke here and there until her shell would break. Even as a child she refused to talk about her problems to others. She would just take all in until she couldn't anymore. "Can you pass me the bottle?"

"I'm not sure if I should. Where has your mouth been?"

"Dumbass."

She laughed and passed him the bottle. "I love you too."

"Did you go to the festival?"

"Yes, I did?"

"Did you go alone?"

"Why do you ask?" She tried to say it in a casual voice but failed.

"I was just asking but now I'm curious."

"No one special."

He looked at her waiting for her to answer.

"I went with Kakashi but before you say some smart comment it was no date. Only two friends."

He lifted his hands in defense. "I'm not saying anything. Did you have fun?"

Her face lit up at the memory. "Yes, it was nice."

"Nice hum? And a nice evening with only a "friend" makes you smile like a fool?"

"Shut up."

He laughed. "So if your evening was nice why are you here at almost 3 am drinking and smoking like this?"

She took time to answer but she knew he wouldn't let this slide.

"I couldn't sleep."

"And why?" He said patiently.

"Bad dreams."

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"No."

"Do you frequently have bad dreams?"

"Can we just not talk about it?"

"Sure but it would do you good."

She sighed. "I think my memory is coming back. I have been dreaming about what happened."

"The torture?"

"Yes."

"If you don't want to talk to me at least you should talk to a professional about it."

"I can handle it."

"With alcohol and cigarettes?" He regretted instantaneously saying this because he knew he had pushed her too hard.

"It's getting late and I'm cold. Good night Genma."

"Please talk to someone about it Manami or else it will eat you up. Good night." He kissed her on the forehead and left.

He needed to watch her.

* * *

A few days later Kakashi was training when he saw Becas approach. She sat down and began to lick her paw. He didn't know exactly how to handle cats. He preferred dogs. Cats were too savage for being pets.

When she was content with her cleaning she got closer and said. "Kakashi, isn't it?"

"Yes, good morning Becas."

"You care about Manami don't you?"

"Yes, why do you ask?"

Becas worried about Manami but she was a proud cat and would never admit it to others that she cared for a human. "She isn't sleeping well, wakes me up in the middle of the night with her screams and then in the morning, she lets herself sleep in, and doesn't feed me on time. The only thing she cares about now is drinking, doesn't even pet me anymore."

She exaggerated a bit but her drinking had become worse over the days. At first, she would only drink before sleeping but when she began to still wake up at night she would drink more and more.

Kakashi became worried about Manami. "Is she at home now?"

"She was before I left."

* * *

He was now ringing her doorbell but got no answer. He tried the door and it was open, so he got inside.

"Manami are you here?'

"Who's there?" Her voice came from the bedroom and she sounded sleepy.

He looked around. The air inside was stuffy, on the kitchen counter where some empty sake bottles. That wasn't good.

She showed up still in her PJs.

"Good morning Kakashi, what's up?"

"Not much, I was just training and got bored. Do you wanna train with me?" He had learned not to confront her directly or else she would close up.

She was hungover so she reached for a glass of water. She didn't want to train but it would be suspicious and she really didn't want him to make questions so she said: "Give me some time for showering and I will catch up to you."

20 minutes later with the painkiller and fresh shower, she felt better and headed to the training ground where Kakashi was waiting for her. He was training his Kamui.

"That's impressive and you're not even an Uchiha? How did you even get your Sharingan?" She remembered Migeru telling her how Kakashi was known as a friend killer and his dead Uchiha team member. She hoped he would tell her his story so she didn't have to train. But she was quite curious as well.

Kakashi didn't like to share that story but if he wanted for her to open up to him, he should probably too.

He told her the story of his first mission after becoming a Jonin. He was stubborn and proud at that time and would follow the rules at all costs.

When his other teammate Rin was captured during the mission, Kakashi as the captain of their team wanted to continue the mission, because that's what the rules said, to put the mission first. But Obito Uchiha had another opinion. They separated and only later did Kakashi understand that he was making a mistake, that friends should come first. So he went after Obito and Rin. They managed to save Rin and Obito activated his Sharingan and Kakashi lost his eye. When they were escaping the cave they were in began to collapse. Obito saves Kakashi from being crushed under a rock and takes his place. His last wish was for Kakashi to have his Sharingan which Rin transplanted.

"And what happened to Rin?"

"You must have heard my nickname when you were in the ANBU?"

She nodded. "But knowing you I can't believe it's true."

"But it is. Rin died by my hand." He looked at his hand with a sad expression. "I run my Chidori through her chest."

Manami's eyes got big in surprise. She never had thought he did it. "But there must be a reason you did that, does it?"

He gave her a sad smile. "She had been kidnapped by shinobis from Kirigakure and when I saved her she asked me to kill her, that she couldn't go back to Konoha. I didn't understand at the time and refused. When I was fighting she put herself in front of me and I wasn't able to change the direction of my attack. Later I have been told that her kidnappers had sealed the three-tales inside her and he would be released in Konoha if Rin made it back. That's why she asked me to kill her, that's why she got in front of my Chidori."

It had been many years since those events but Manami could see that it still pained him. His sad expression made her feel bad for asking, but she was glad he had told her. She hugged him.

He wasn't expecting the hug but he enjoyed it. He was glad he had told her about his past. He just hoped it would help her to open up to him now.

"But as you said, I'm no Uchiha and Kamui drained my chakra leaving me hungry. Let's grab lunch."

Manami was yawning. After lunch, they decided for a walk since Kakashi was tired. They stopped near a river and enjoyed the view and each other's company.

Another yawn...

"You seem as tired as I am, didn't you sleep?" Kakashi said teasingly. He hoped now would be a good time to talk about her problems.

"No, I had a bad dream and was most of the night awake."

It seemed she wouldn't tell more, she needed another push.

"You know, today something strange happened."

She looked at him curiously.

"Becas came up to me."

"Indeed very strange. What did she want?"

"She was complaining about you. That you would wake her up in the middle of the night and in the morning you wouldn't feed her because you were asleep."

_'Thanks, Becas for pointing me out.'_ But if even her cat had noticed that she wasn't acting normal was a reason for concern. The memory of Genma pleading for her to talk to someone came to her mind. After a couple of days, she wanted to talk to him, but he had been out on a mission. So she continued to search for comfort in drinking. But it wasn't having the same effect as it did in the beginning. Now she needed to drink till she passed out to be able to sleep. It was time for her to get her shit together. She couldn't talk to Genma right now but Kakashi was here right next to her.

She took out a cigarette and thought about what to say to him and how. "She must be concerned about me. I haven't slept well for some time. Memories of when I was tortured keep me awake. Alcohol lets me sleep better for some time but now I have to drink more every time and I'm scared of becoming addicted."

"You know, I have been tortured too, not physically but in Itachi's Tsukuyomi. I know that it is hard to overcome the pain that you felt and how helpless you were."

_'He has been through so much and is so strong. And I? I just let myself go.'_

It was his time now to hug her.

"It's going to be hard for you to overcome this but you will be alright. You are strong and I will help you, I promise."

His embrace made her feel much calmer. Only by admitting her struggle out loud felt like a weight had been lifted. Genma was right, she needed to thank him when he would come back.

"And how can you help me?"

"I will stay with you during the night."

In his head that sounded different.

Manami pushed away from him.

"I knew you were a pervert but I never thought you would take advantage of my weakness."

"No, it's not like that I swear." He was so embarrassed about what he had said.

She began to laugh and he relaxed.

"Got you."

"That wasn't funny."

She laughed some more and then became serious again.

"Thank you, Kakashi for listening and I might accept your offer because I don't have the strength to overcome this by myself."

Later at night, Kakashi was at her place.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" asked Manami.

"Don't worry I'll be fine."

"I would understand if you don't feel comfortable doing this. Even I feel bad for asking this of you."

"You didn't ask, it was my suggestion. Now go to bed and if you'll need me I'm here for you. Good night."

"Good night Kakashi. You really are a good friend." She gave him a kiss on his unmasked face and went to her bed while he would sleep on her couch. She had offered him her bed since he was making her a favor of staying with her but he refused.


	25. Rescue the Kazekage

Kakashi stayed with Manami for some days since he wasn't going on missions. Tsunade wanted him to stay around because Naruto should arrive any time now and she wanted him to test his former student.

The first night he slept on Manami's couch she woke up screaming. He went to her in bed and held her until she calmed down and eventually fell back asleep. The horror she revived in her dreams could be seen in her eyes and it took some time for her to calm down and by the time she fell asleep Kakashi was too exhausted to go back to the couch so he stayed with her.

In the morning he woke up with her moving in his arms.

"I'm sorry I didn't want to wake you up." She said.

"No, it's ok. Sorry that I fell asleep in your bed."

"Don't be silly Kakashi. You are helping me, you don't have to apologize. And I have said it before, we are grown-ups and I have no problem sharing a bed with you." She wouldn't say it but she liked to wake up in his arms. He was so warm and smelled so good...

She got up and Kakashi was about to do the same when he felt a part of him was hard. It was no wonder, after all, he had slept with the girl he loved in his arms, but to evade an awkward situation he stayed in bed till he calmed down.

* * *

The days passed and Manami got better, almost not having nightmares. Even some of her memory came back. Kakashi began to sleep in her bed, after all, it was more comfortable than the couch.

The day his former student came back had arrived and Kakashi was called to the Hokage for testing him, but some time later Kakashi was back with a new book in hand.

"That was fast. Are you already done?"

Kakashi was distracted by his new book. "Hum? No, I just gave Naruto some time to rest. If he is to show his capabilities he has to be in top form."

"Right and that new book of yours has nothing to do with you delaying the test. Is that the new one from the Icha Icha series?"

Kakashi was all excited. "Yes it's not even out yet and Naruto gave me as a gift."

 _'Aww, he is so cute when he gets excited with his books._ '

*** Some hours later***

"Now I have to go, I'm already late."

"Nothing new about that."

"Aren't you funny... Do you wanna come? It should be fun."

"Sure why not. Seeing you kick some ass or have yours kicked is better than staying alone at home."

Kakashi teleported himself to the training ground 3 while Manami preferred to walk since she hated to use the teleportation jutsu. Once there Kakashi had already begun.

"Good afternoon Lady Tsunade, Shizune, and..." She looked at an older shinobi on the tree, not recognizing him.

Jiraiya being a Casanova took that opportunity to introduce himself. "Hello, beautiful. My name is Jiraiya. Yes, that Jiraiya, as the legendary Sannin."

"Nice to meet you Jiraiya-Sama. My name is Manami." She said respectfully.

Tsunade after sending an annoyed look to Jiraiya, said to Manami: "What a surprise seeing you here."

"Well since I had nothing better to do and Kakashi asked me if I would like to see the performance of his former students I accepted. As I understood Sakura was training these two and a half years under your guidance?"

"Yes, that's correct. I'm curious as to how she will do. And how are you doing? I haven't seen you for some time."

"I'm fine, I have begun to remember some things. Not the whole two years but some situations I went through came back. But I can't even see when they happened.

"That's good. The older memory should come back first. When can I count on you for another mission?"

"When you really need someone you can count on me. If there is no need, I would like to take some more time."

"As you wish. You deserve the vacations after all the time you were away."

* * *

Manami couldn't believe that Kakashi lost because of spoilers to his beloved book. The kids had grown. She had remembered Naruto. Probably his loud voice helped her memory to recall the forgotten imagens of when she found him while he was beaten up by some thugs.

Lady Tsunade and the others got to congratulate the younger but she had felt out of place so got back to her home.

Sometime later Kakashi was there too. "Hey, I thought you would treat your former students for their victory. Why are you home already?"

Kakashi noticed how she talked like he would live with her and he liked it. Her apartment felt really like a home to him after these days he'd spend with her. For a long time, he didn't feel as happy as he did now. "I was about to but they have grown so much that they didn't seem to appreciate my company as much as they did before."

"I was about to go to bed, you staying up?" She asked since Kakashi had made himself comfortable on the couch with his book.

"Yes, I really want to finish this. Tomorrow we are going on a mission so I won't have time for that."

In the morning when Manami woke up she instantaneously noticed that Kakashi didn't come to bed. When she got to the living room she saw him doing paperwork. "You haven't done this yet?"

"I lost track of time and only when the sun was rising I remember that I still needed to do this."

Manami helped him with his work and he went taking a shower. When he was finished so was Manami and he was ready to leave.

"I don't know how long this mission is going to be. Will you be alright?"

"I think I will. And I promise you I won't drink nor smoke."

Before putting up his mask he gave her a goodbye kiss on the cheek.

Now Manami was alone again. She had to keep herself busy to not think too much about how she already missed Kakashi...

* * *

Sometime later Tsunade was with Iruka and Jiraiya at the gate seeing off Kakashi's team as they left for Sunagakure.

Jiraiya had remembered why Manami looked so familiar. She wasn't on the bingo book but she had been considered a deserter and therefore he had seen her wanted picture.

"Say Tsunade, that kunoichi that was watching Kakashi's test yesterday, isn't she the Beauty with the black Sharingan?"

"Yes, she is. Why do you ask?"

"This mission with the Akatsuki could be dangerous. She could give them a hand. I have heard she is strong."

"Manami has been through some hard times and is technically on vacation. But you're right. I will talk to her and see if she can help them."

Manami, after being debriefed by Tsunade, had immediately accepted the mission. She was needed because backup would only be possible when Guy's team would be back from their mission. She was running now as fast as she could to catch up to Kakashi's team.

After a day she caught up to them. A kunoichi with a Suna forehead protector was with them. It was Temari, the sister from the Kazekage Gaara.

Kakashi was the first to sense her approaching. "What are you doing here?" He asked.

"Lady Tsunade sent me to assist you since the backup will take a bit."

"You're that lady with the strange Sharingan, aren't you? Since when are you back in Konoha?"

Kakashi was surprised that Naruto remembered her. It seemed Manami had impressed him.

She was about to answer but Sakura did that for her.

"Don't be so impolite to sensei Kakashi's girlfriend. She has been pardoned."

"Sorry what? I'm not his girlfriend. Don't spread rumors like that."

The young kunoichi became all red because of her embarrassment.

"I'm sorry I thought you were together since we saw you at the festival..."

Manami cut her short before she would say more nonsense. "It isn't right to assume things you don't know and especially talk about them. But don't worry I'm not offended, but just don't say more such things."

* * *

When they arrived in Suna they were escorted to the medical station where Kankuro was. After the incident with Chiyo where she mistakes Kakashi with the White Fang of Konoha, Sakura begins to work asap.

Manami was impressed with the young medic-nin and so seemed the others. In the end, she saved Kankuro's life. When he gained conscience he told them that he was able to snitch a piece of clothing from Sasori. With that Kakashi's Ninken got to work and they were given rooms to rest for the night. Kakashi would stay with Naruto and Manami with Sakura. While the teens were already asleep, the two Jonin were talking in the hallway.

"Do you think you are already up for an S rank mission?"

"My performance was never the problem Kakashi. My help is needed so I came."

"And will you be alright during the night with Sakura?"

"I think so. The nightmares didn't go away, I just can recognize them and wake myself up before I reach the bad part. So don't worry about me. Worry instead about the Akatsuki. What do you know about them?"

Kakashi told her everything he knew about them and afterward, they tried to get some rest too.

In the early morning, Pakun was back and indicated Kakashi the location of the two members of the Akatsuki that had kidnapped Gaara, and as all were up and ready they headed out.

They were already out of the desert when they came across a man dressed in a black cloak with red clouds. Manami hadn't seen him for some time but recognized him instantaneously. Itachi Uchiha. He had grown, looked like a man now, and was tired. But he shouldn't be underestimated.

Kakashi stood in front of them. "Don't look him in the eyes. I'll be the one to fight him. You give me support."

No wonder Kakashi wanted to be the one attacking him. He would want to clear some things between them after all the pain Itachi had caused him.

Manami activated her Sharingan too.

Kakashi was about to attack when out of nowhere Naruto launched a Rasengan. He was trapped in a genjutsus. Manami and Sakura got to him to infuse their chakra and break him out.

"Are you ok Naruto?" Asked Kakashi.

After the kid said he was ok, Kakashi attacked Itachi, but he launched Phoenix flower jutsu and a fireball jutsu which Kakashi sidestepped. Everyone hides away and Kakashi casts a hidden mist jutsu. That was useless for someone with a Sharingan so it must have been for a distraction.

So Manami distracted Itachi further to give Kakashi time to prepare whatever he was planning. She attacked Itachi and he only evaded her attacks until he launched another fireball that caused her to retreat but Kakashi came from the ground almost hitting Itachi in the chin but before he could step back, Kakashi held him and looked him in the eye.

"I see why my genjutsu isn't working. It's a shadow clone." Said Itachi.

"Now Naruto, take him and my clone with your Rasengan."

The teen was already launching himself before Kakashi called out to him.

 _'That kid has some strong jutsu'_ tough Manami.

The attack was a hit and Itachi was on the ground... But the corps wasn't Itachi's. It was a Jonin from Suna. They had no time to figure things out right now. Chiyo believed that the extraction of the one-tail must have begun and if concluded, Gaara would die.

While they were running Kakashi approached Manami. "I'm concerned about Naruto. The giant Rasengan has drained his chakra."

"Yes, I have noticed as well. We are slowing down. But he seems determined to keep going."

"Gaara is his friend and Naruto had no friends for a long time, that's why he is so determined to save him."

"But he needs to rest. We don't know what's waiting for us."

He had the same opinion so when the sun was setting he called everyone to hold and rest for a bit. Naruto didn't like it at first but Kakashi explained patiently to him that they had slowed down and they would face Gaara's kidnappers in the morning and needed to be at their best.

When they arrived at their destiny, team Guy had also arrived moments ago. It was a cave but the entry was sealed with a five-seal barrier. Guy's team spread out, each member to one of the seals while the others stayed at the gate. After removing the seal and Sakura to break the rock they entered. Two Akatsuki members were awaiting them. The Kazekage was laying on the ground without moving. They were apparently too late.

It seemed that Guy's team had activated some sort of defense and had problems on their own.

Seeing his friend like that made Naruto lose his nerves. The blond Akatsuki member, Deidara as it seamed, provoked him to the point he stormed at them, needing Kakashi to put himself in front of the teen to stop him. But when he left flying on a giant bird with Garra on it, Naruto followed him and Kakashi afterward.

"Me and Naruto taking care of the one outside, you take care of this one, but be careful. Guy's team should soon be able to help if needed."

"We got these. Be careful." Manam said.

Elder Chiyo stepped forward to confront her grandson. It was her fight, although Manami was watchful and would step in when necessary to protect or support the older woman. She had never seen a puppeteer fight so she used this to try to learn something and see what they were up against. After Chiyo sent some kunais, Sasori's cape came off and exposed his true form. Sakura seemed to be frozen, no wonder, that thing looked more like a monster than a human. Was Sasori somewhere in there?

It seemed he would use humans to make his puppets. That was just sick. They had to end him and make sure he could never turn a human into one of his puppets.

Chiyo had seen differences in the puppet her grandson was using and became aware that he had changed things and she wouldn't have the advantage of knowing its weapons, so she asked for help. She wanted Sakura to break the outer puppet to expose Sasori.

"Come here I have a plan." Sakura and Manami stepped close to Chiyo to hear what she had planned. She wanted to guide them both with her chakra strings but Manami thought that it would be too risky.

"No, you look after Sakura and yourself, or else your attention can be compromised. I can watch out for myself. Don't worry, I know I can't be hit by any of his weapons because of the poison. With my Sharingan, I should be able to evade."

"As you wish."

Manami froze her image as she created a clone while she would stay hidden and save to learn from what she saw. That was a trick she had learned from Kakashi and extremely useful, especially against an enemy she didn't know.

Sasori shot what seemed an endless amount of senbon which they could evade. In the end, Sakura was close enough to break his outer shell and reveal his true form, but he wasn't finished with the senbon yet and Sasori figured out that his grandmother was guiding Sakura with her chakra strings.

Sasori had admitted to having killed the third Kazekage and was now attacking with his puppet. He trapped Sakura in a poison cloud. Chiyo tried to pull her out but she was stuck with ropes. Manami called upon the wind to disperse the poison cloud but Sasori only made a counterattack that blew the poison right back to its original place. Only by using an explosive note did Sakura break free, but got injured. As she was catching her breath Manami's clone attacked Sasori.

But soon enough her clone was beaten and he focused his attention again on Chiyo and Sakura. The old lady pulled out two puppets which seemed to be a copy of Sasori's parents. ( _'Have I said how sick all this is?'_ )

The puppets were now fighting against each other, it was quite impressive. When Sasori made the Kazekage puppet bring out the iron sand things began to complicate. Manami could barely escape when he shot the sand at them. Part of the selling fell down on her and because she was escaping Sasori's attack she wasn't able to evade the wreckage from the selling on time and she got buried and knocked out.

When Manami came to her she had to dig her way out, but with a broken arm, it was quite difficult. Once again free, she was confronted with dozens of puppets flying and attacking. It seemed that only a handful of white dressed puppets were on their side, guided by Chiyo. The rest was an enemy. Manami brought out her katana and began to cut through the puppets as good as she could with only one arm. Her Sharingan saved her life because only through him she could see when one of those puppets would use some hidden weapon.

Sakura was charging too, with the white puppets protecting her. In the end, Sasori was killed by his parent's puppets but he was so impressed by Sakura that he revealed her a secret. Apparently, he has someone spying on Orochimaru and he was about to meet him in ten days on the bridge of heaven and earth in the hidden Village of Grass.


	26. Gaining the memories back

Manami helped Chiyo as well as she could with her broken arm. She didn't want them to heal it because they might still need their chakra. And it was astonishing that the old lady was still conscious with the poison in her system.

They were following the path that Kakashi and Naruto had taken. The destruction was visible. Before they could reach them Manami could feel an incredible chakra presence. _'Is_ _that Naruto?'_

Kakashi was exhausted from using his Kamui and from the blond Akatsuki was no sight. Soon could be heard battle noises, probably from Guy's team.

An explosion followed soon and they would be swallowed by it but Kakashi could use one last time his Kamui to teleport the flaming hell to another dimension.

They were heading back to Suna but Chiyo made them stop. She wouldn't resist much longer and she said she had still something to do. With her last breath, she brought back Gaara. Everyone was shocked but Manami could understand Chiyo. Her life had been long and as a shinobi, she knew what sacrifice was, and bringing the young Kazekage back to life by ending hers was her ultimate sacrifice.

With the Suna backup, Sakura insisted on healing her arm before they would go back to the village. In Suna, they were received in cheers for seeing their Kazekage back. Soon they would go back to Konoha.

* * *

Some days had passed and Manami was visiting Kakashi in the hospital like she did every day. She divided her time between training, visiting Kakashi, and taking care of her needs. She had made a decision and was training to go back to missions. She had let herself go and the performance against Sasori was proof of it.

"Today I was by Lady Tsunade, I have told her that I want to go back to do missions. Tomorrow I will depart on one."

Kakashi looked up from his book. "Are you sure? What about your nightmares?"

"I have it under control now. And since the Akatsuki are active now and I have seen what they are capable of, I can't just stay at home and let the others do the work. My mission isn't related to them but someone has still to do the "normal" missions."

Kakashi was already expecting that when he left the hospital he would go to his home instead of Manami's but to be sure of it was still a bit disappointing. All he could do now was enjoying her presence before she left.

"So what is your mission then?"

"It's an escort mission for a scientist and his family. The company he works for is paying. Looks like he is moving between facilities and they are scared that their competitors try to steal him away. It's not difficult but it will take some weeks till I'll come back. So make sure that when I get back you're out of this hospital."

He chuckled. "In a couple of days, I should be out already."

"And what are you going to do?"

"I have come up with a new method for Naruto to train."

"So you continue your career as a Sansei?"

"You could say so."

* * *

Manami was on the way to her mission. She had plenty of time so she enjoyed her walk until she sensed someone behind her. She stopped and reached for her backpack as if she would grab her water bottle, but instead, she takes out her katana and turned around to face however was following her. A man with a black cape with red cloth and black hair. Itachi Uchiha.

"Hello, Manami-kun. I see your reflexes are still sharp." He said happily.

She activated her Sharingan and assumed a battle stance. "What do you want?"

Itachi seemed to be surprised. "What are you doing? I'm not going to attack you."

"Then what do you want?" She didn't relax. This could be a trick.

"Don't you remember meeting? What we talked about?"

Manami hesitated. Did she really meet him or has he somehow known of her memory loss and was taking advantage of it?

"What happened to you?" His voice sounded genuinely worried. She risked it and looked him in the eyes. He didn't have his Sharingan activated. Now she was really curious.

"What would I have to talk with you about?"

"We have talked about how you deserted as a mission from the Hokage. And how I was forced to choose between killing my clan and let my brother live or see how they would all be killed by someone else..."

"What?" ' _Could this be true?'_

Imagines of Itachi flickered in front of her eyes. He was smiling at her, was relaxed, and looked way younger than what he looked now. She just couldn't remember what they were talking about.

"Do you remember?" He asked hopefully.

"I... I have lost some of my memories, but I think I remember meeting you."

"Do you know how it happened?"

"I put myself under a genjutsu and someone tried to invade my memory by force."

"I see. I think I can help you if you allow me to use my Sharingan on you."

"Why do you think that?"

"I have helped you evolving your abilities with the Sharingan so I think I can restore your memory."

If he was asking then he wouldn't want to harm her, now would he? Manami nodded and he activated his Sharingan.

She looked him in the eyes and everything around her changed. She was now at the mountain top, her favorite place.

"Why are we here, how do you know of this place?"

"You have shown it to me. Said it was your favorite place. Your memories are still there but they are shredded and out of place. I can put them in order."

With that, he left her head and the memories she had forgotten came back at once.

*** Flashback***

She was leaving Konoha after helping to rebuild it when she saw Itachi before her. She froze for an instant but soon remembered what he did to his clan and prepared herself for battle.

"Don't worry I'm not going to attack you."

"What do you want then?"

"I was just wondering why you haven't stayed in Konoha? Did the new Hokage not believed that you were sent by the third to desert?"

"How do you know?"

"Danzou told me when he made an offer."

"Why would he do that?"

"He said I wouldn't be the first to do sacrifices for helping Konoha."

"And what was your sacrifice?"

He told her that the Uchiha were planning a coup d'tetat and he had two choices. He could kill every member of his clan and spare his brother's life or someone else would kill everyone including Sasuke. So he did it to save his brother and the rest she knew. She needed a while to truly believe him but in the end, it was more plausible than the young and kind Uchiha she knew kill his clan without mercy.

"I have heard that you have some kind of Sharingan? I could help you train if you would like."

She accepted his offer. He told her that her eye of hypnotism seemed stronger than the eye of insight when compared to the normal Sharingan, which granted her more powerfully genjutsus. Her genjutsus did not just influence the chakra in the head of her victim but in his whole body and therefore it was much more difficult to break and the victim had much more trouble to recognize it as an illusion.

One day Manami asked him. "Why have you told me your secret when it was all classified?"

He blushed. "I felted the need to open up to someone and I thought that you would understand why I did what I did. You have always been nice to me, treated me like an equal when others would look at me like a child."

Manami understands him. He needed someone to talk like she had Isabella on the other world.

*** End of flashback***

Manami felted dizzy from all the memories.

"Thank you so much for bringing my memories back."

He chuckled. "It was nothing, don't worry."

Itachi accompanied her on her way. They talked and laughed together. Later they stopped to eat something.

"So don't you have nothing to do?" Manami asked teasingly.

"What are you already tired of my company?"

"No, I enjoy it don't worry I was just messing with you."

"I'm getting worse and I don't know when I will be able to see you again, or if I will see you again..."

Manami was so sad. Itachi didn't deserve such a cruel fate. He was such a gentle soul, so a powerful shinobi and so damn loyal to his country and village. He just deserved better. She hugged him tightly.

They stayed like this for a while when Itachi pulled back a bit and kissed her softly on the lips. She let him kiss her but then stopped him.

"I'm sorry Itachi, I care about you but not like this."

"I know. You are in love with Kakashi."

"What?"

"I have seen your memories, your thoughts."

Manami didn't know what to say. She remembered now the night she spent with Kakashi. How he had broken her defenses she had put up so carefully that night. She didn't know what she would do once she would be back, or how she would face Kakashi. Why didn't he told her? Did he not liked her after all or was he disappointed?

After dinner, they went separated ways. Manami was sad that she couldn't comfort Itachi further but he smiled at her and said it was alright. He had chosen how he would die and that he was in peace with that. She was sure she never had met someone as strong as he was in more than one way. But now she had to move on. She had to hurry and do her mission.

* * *

Manami was back from her successful mission and was heading to Lady Tsunade to made her report. She found that the Hokage was a bit distracted but she continued neither less.

"Thank you, Manami. Now I have some bad news to tell you. Asuma Sarutobi has died on a mission."

"What? Oh God, how is Kurenai."

"She will need all support from her friends now."

"Who did it, who killed Asuma?"

"Asuma and his team were up against two Akatsuki members, Hidan and Kakuzu. Before you ask, Asuma's former students and Kakashi went after them to avenge him, and some time ago I have sent reinforcement and hope that soon they will report in."

Manami clenched her fist. She hoped no one more would die at the hand of these two Akatsuki members. For the time being there was nothing more to discuss with the Hokage, so she left. She would take a shower and visit Kurenai.

Kurenai was a mess as expected. Manami didn't know what to say, especially when she discovered that her friend was pregnant whit Asuma's child. In the end, all she could do was offer her friendship, support, and kind words.

Back at her place, Manami thought about love. To see how broke her friend was because of the loss of her lover made her think that she was right, that a shinobi's lifestyle isn't made for a relationship. But then she thought about Kakashi. What if he didn't come back? She couldn't even put her mind around such a thing. After remembering their night together, she had admitted to herself that she fell for him but did she really want a relationship with him?

Her doorbell brought her back to reality. She opened and outside was Kakashi already with his mask pulled down.

"Yo, can I come in?"

He looked exhausted and completely beaten up. She couldn't believe he would show up at her door instead of resting but she was happy to see him alive. She hugged him and a few tears of relief left her eyes. She pulled him inside and into the couch so he would at least sit down. Only then he noticed her tears.

"What is it Manami? Why are you crying?"

"I'm happy to see you. I was worried I could lose you."

Kakashi was taken by surprise by her words. If he would hurt her, would it be possible for her to acknowledge her feelings for him? He had to try because he couldn't be only friends with her for longer. If she didn't open up to him then he needed to stay away from her, forgetting her or else he would always suffer for not being with her.

He took her face in his hands and brushed her tears away with his thumbs and looked her in the eyes.

"How can you lose me when I'm not yours to lose?"


	27. Good morning sunshine

"How can you lose me when I'm not yours to lose?"

Words can hurt and Manami just felt that. Kakashi's words hit her like a punch to her face. Of course, he wasn't hers, but she thought... She didn't even know what she thought.

She tried to get up, away from him, and his penetrant gaze, but he held her put and made her look back at him.

"But I could be if you want." Her expression softens so he continued. "I fell for you Manami and I don't think I can continue with you only as a friend. The days I spent with you in your apartment was wonderful. Being with you 24/7, seeing you fall asleep, and waking up next to you was amazing, but the part where I couldn't kiss you or hold you where torture. I just can't go on like this"

She wasn't expecting such a confession from him. He looked so nervous and anxious about what her response would be. "I'm sorry for putting you through this. I was selfish but also blind."

She took his hand into hers. "Kakashi I have lied to myself for a long time now because I fell for you too. I was scared to admit it because things with Migeru didn't work well, and I'm still scared. Our lives are complicated for a relationship, I mean look at Kurenai. I don't want to end up like her."

"I know what you mean. We could go for some time without seeing each other and every mission we go on can be our last one. But if something would happen to you I would still be broken but if we would be together I had at least the memories. Weren't you worried right now to lose me as you said?"

He was right. Her feelings for him existed and it would make no difference if she would be with him or not, she would always suffer if he would die. "Why do you always have to be right?" She teased him.

He chuckled. If she was making her smart comments then it was a good sign. "Well, I was called a prodigy when I was young."

"Show off." Manami pounded.

"So what do you say, do you want to be my girlfriend?"

 _'Girlfriend'_ She remembered how he called her that before the assassination mission and how it somehow felt right. She was so stupid to ignore her feelings for him for so long. She got closer to his face and said "Yes I would like that."

She kissed him as if to seal their compromise to each other and he replied happily. They kissed for a while, hands caressing each other's body until they separated to catch some air.

Manami was smiling at Kakashi. "So, boyfriend, do you wanna stay tonight with me?"

He remembered her memory loss, and it would be best when he told her about the night they spent together. He became nervous again, not knowing how she would react. While scratching his neck and not facing her directly he told her: " I should probably tell you about a thing that happened when we met the second time while you were considered as a deserter." He began.

She suspected what he was about to say but didn't interrupt him. How could she explain that she had her memories back without mentioning Itachi?

He looked at her again. "I have told you that we ate together that night and we kind of slept together too."

She put on a serious face. She just loved messing with him. "What do you mean we slept together? Like we slept when you tried to comfort me for my nightmares?"

"No, not like that, like stay the night together, do you know what I mean?"

For a pervert that Kakashi was, he was very shy sometimes and Manami was just loving to push him like that. He was already all red in his face.

"I'm sorry but I can't follow you" she had some trouble staying serious but she managed to control herself.

He became suspicious of her _'Did she remember that night and is messing with me now?'_ "Are you making fun of me?"

"No, I would never dare to make fun of you." She couldn't hold her laugh any longer and he looked at her pissed. "I'm sorry, you are just cute when you get nervous."

"Cute? That is just what a man wants to hear from his girlfriend. So you remember that night?"

She decided to tell him what she had remembered before Itachi brought her memories back. "Do you remember when we ate at Ichiraku's before the flower festival? Ayame dropped a bowl and that made me remember some things. I wasn't even sure if it was memories much less when they happened."

"I remember that. So that's why you blushed. Did you like what you remembered?" Now it was his time to tease her.

She hit him lightly on his arm. "I was embarrassed because I didn't know what had happened. If you want to know if I liked it then I guess you need to do it again." She said suggestively.

He didn't let him tell twice. With one hand to her neck, he pulled her to him and kissed her. His lips left hers to slide down her neck. By the collarbone, he bit her skin lightly which sensed her shivers down her spine. In the search of a more comfortable position she pulled her leg over him to sit on his lap and with her hand on his chest she pushed on him to steady herself. That's when he let out a grunt, not of pleasure but of pain.

She stopped immediately worried about him. "What is it? Have I hurt you?"

"No I'm ok, I'm just bruised."

She had almost forgotten that he had fought with those Akatsuki guys. "What happened?"

Kakashi was reluctant to tell her, but he knew she wouldn't let it go. "That Kakuzu tried to rip out my heart. He uses the hearts of his victims to extend his life."

Manami was shocked. It seemed she was really close to losing him. She took his hand and pulled him up and guided him to her room.

"Someone is eager to get me to bed." He said with a wicked smile.

"You bet I am, but not for what you are thinking, you pervert. You need to rest and that's what you're going to do."

He had other plans. He pushed her against the wall of her bedroom, his hands sliding quickly under her shirt to pull it over her head. She let him take off her shirt and did the same to him before he could kiss her again.

She wanted him as bad as he wanted her, but they had time for that during the next days since she got some days off too. When she saw how beaten his upper body was, especially the scars where Kakuzu tried to take his heart, she had no doubt that he was exhausted and needed to rest.

He was kissing her neck again but Manami stopped him. "Kakashi I don't want you to believe that I don't want you, because I do, but you need to rest. Please stop now or else I will lose my mind and won't be able to stop again.

He chuckled. She was right, he was exhausted and everything hurts. He didn't want to begin their relationship by disappointing her in bed. "You're right. Best we go to sleep." He pecked her lips and let her go. He still had his toothbrush in her bathroom so he brushed his teeth and got to bed only in his boxer shorts because it was warm. Manami put on her nightgown and got to bed too. He pulled her close to him and gave her a good night kiss. He never thought that this night would end like this but it was for sure better than what he had hoped for.

* * *

In the morning Manami was the first to wake up. Kakashi was still holding her. She took some time to look at him. He was so beautiful. His chest was uncovered. She traced his scar over his heart. Death had been so close to him... She got up carefully to not wake him up. She would make breakfast for them both. He would probably be hungry when waking up.

She was finishing some scrambled eggs when she felt Kakashi hug her from behind. He kissed her cheek. "Good morning sunshine."

She smiled, she remembered how he had called her that before. "Good morning handsome. Are you hungry?"

"Yes, I'm starving."

They ate breakfast while talking and laughing with each other. When finished, Manami was about to clean up but Kakashi stopped her. He looked at her with desire and before she could react he put her over his shoulder and carried her to the bedroom.

"What are you doing? You're crazy."

"I'm crazy about you."

As soon as he put her down, he started to kiss her. Her hands wandered to his hair pulling herself close to him. The thin fabric of her nightgown didn't do much to hide her hardening nipples when Kakashi brushed his hands over her breasts. In his boxer shorts was something getting hard as well. He reached for the end of her nightgown and took it off letting her only in her underwear. He stepped a bit back to look at her. His gaze on her naked body made her feel self-conscious. She had no problem with her body but the dark scars from the electrical burns bothered her. But she knew Kakashi wasn't that shallow. So she stood tall and didn't waver under his gaze.

"Do you like what you see?" She asked teasingly.

"Yes, very much. You're beautiful."

He stepped close to her again and with a hand on her neck he pulled her in for a deep slow kiss. Slowly he pushed her in the direction of the bed and when she stumbled against it he made her lay down.

He explored her body with his hands and lips. She had so many new scars since the last time he had seen her naked. He kissed them and silently promised to himself he would make the responsible pay for hurting her. She was oblivious to his thoughts, the sensation he was giving her was driving her crazy for more.

Kakashi claimed back her lips while one hand was still caressing her body. Slowly his hand found her way between her legs. Her underpants were already wet as he found out. He was pleased to have such an effect on her. He felt how she pressed her hips against his hand. She wanted more and he granted her wish. He pushed aside the fabric and stroked her clit carefully. He looked at her how she bit down on her lip so she wouldn't let escape a moan. When he pushed a finger inside her she couldn't hold it in anymore and a soft moan filled the room. That was just like music for Kakashi's ears and he pushed faster into her to continue to hear her moans.

Manami was loving what he was doing to her, but she wanted to pleasure him too. She reached between his legs and caressed his member through his boxer shorts. He wasn't expecting her touch and for a brief moment he stopped pushing into her but soon he gained back his composure and inserted a second finger. But that wasn't enough for him. He took off her underpants and went down on her. He was liking her clit while pushing his finger into her which made her lose her mind. She was about to come and he knew it because her legs were shaking, but he wouldn't stop. He let her ride out her orgasm before he stopped.

She was breathing hard when she saw how Kakashi got up from down there. He was liking his fingers. "Mmh. You're so tasty."

She reached for a pillow and hit him. "You're such a pervert."

"Yes I am and you like it."

She couldn't argue with that...

She wanted to give back the favor so she turned herself over him and took off his boxer shorts. He was already dripping with precome and wouldn't take long. She began to lick it while making eye contact. He pulled her hair lovingly aside. When she took him in her mouth he closed his eyes and let his head fall to the pillows. His breathing was uneven as he came closer to his release. He warned her that he was about to cume but Manami continued. He came into her mouth and she swallowed it. She got up and laid next to him, both were catching their breaths.

After a moment he turned to her and kissed her. One hand wandered to her breast and pinched softly one of her nipples and then the other. She assumed the lead now and got on top of him. She kissed his neck and continued down his chest and abdomen. He was getting hard again so she got up to look him in the eye before kissing him again with a new passion. She began to ride him, slowly because she wanted to savor the moment. To go even deeper inside her, Kakashi gripped her hips and pulled her down on him. They began to increase the rhythm and Manami could already feel that she was close to finishing. She concentrated on her breathing to try to wait for Kakashi. He pulled her down to him so he could kiss her. That's when she couldn't hold any longer and came. She moaned into his mouth. The new angle and her pulsating from her orgasm pushed him over the edge and he came too. She let herself catch some breath before she got off of him.

She looked at him with tired but happy eyes. "That was the best morning workout that I had."

He laughed. She could be so silly and he loved that. "And you say I'm the pervert?"

"Only because you are one doesn't mean you're the only one."


	28. Time flies by

The rest of the morning was passed lazily in bed. They talked, slept a bit, and made some more love. Only in the afternoon when the hunger began to be noticed they got out of bed.

Manami was heading out of her bedroom. "We should get a shower before going to eat something."

"That sounds good."

Kakashi was following her to the bathroom but she stopped him.

"Where do you think you're going? You don't get to showering here or else we only take too long and you don't even have clean clothes to change."

He made some puppy eyes but in the end, he gave in. They agreed to meet in Ichiraku because in the middle of the afternoon there were not many options to have lunch.

Later, Manami was about to leave when someone rang her doorbell.

"Hello, Kurenai. What's up?"

"Hello, Manami, are you leaving?"

"I was about to leave, yes. But I'm not busy. What do you need?"

Kurenai was a bit reluctant to talk but with Manami insisting she ended up saying that she had her first ultrasound and didn't want to go alone.

"Shikamaru said he would accompany me but I would like to have a woman with me."

"Kurenai I'm happy to go with you of course."

Manami thought about Kakashi and if she should say something to him before the ultrasound, but he would understand it for sure.

Kurenai was visibly worried but in the end, everything was ok with her baby. Manami accompanied her home and then went to Ichiraku to see if Kakashi was still there. Her belly was asking for something to eat.

Before she could reach her destination Kakashi found her. He was with Tenzo.

"Hi Tenzo, long not seen."

"Hi, Manami. Now I'm Yamato by the way."

She arched a brow.

"I'm on an undercover mission." He added.

"I'm trying to remember that. I'm starving, you wanna go eat something?"

Tenzo, I mean Yamato was oblivious to the couple's relationship. They didn't talk about if they should be public or not so they acted like friends. Since it was almost dinner time they went to a restaurant. Manami sat in front of Kakashi and Yamato next to him.

"So what were you two doing?" Asked Manami.

"Lady Tsunade wanted to talk to us."

"Are you already going on a new mission?"

"No, it was about Naruto's new jutsu."

They talked about this and that until their food arrived. Kakashi looked at his plate and then to Yamato and decided he preferred to savior his food so he took down his mask. Yamato almost joked about his food when he saw Kakashi's face.

"Everything alright?" He asked his friend.

Clearly embarrassed for his reaction he said. "Sure I just... Ahm, the food is pretty hot."

"Not just the food." Manami teased which caused Kakashi to blush just like his friend. She smirked. How much more could she push Kakashi, she wondered. She took off one of her shoes and began to slide her foot up Kakashi's leg. She was looking at her plate but could feel his gaze on her.

"So Yamato what can you tell about your mission?" She said casually. Kakashi had pushed away her leg with his own, so she retreated for now.

Yamato was telling her how he had replaced Kakashi while he was in the hospital...

Manami was listening to her friend and stretches once again her leg out to touch Kakashi. This time she began up higher and slid her foot from his knee through his inner thigh and gave a light squeeze to his crotch, which made him jump. Yamato looked curious at him. Manami had her poker face on but was internally laughing.

"I'm sorry I thought I had seen a mouse." He looked at her intensely which made Yamato look between them suspiciously but he wasn't the type of person to make personal questions.

Manami decided she had teased her boyfriend enough and behaved for the rest of the dinner.

While leaving the location Kakashi, being a gentleman, opened the door for Manami to pass. While doing so he whispered in her ear "tonight you're going to pay for what you did" and slapped her ass. She couldn't hold a gasp of surprise which caught Yamato's attention who was in front of her.

He looked back between the two of them. "Ok, what's going on between you two?"

Kakashi looked at Manami to see if she would answer but she was all red on her face, she looked just cute and he couldn't resist her any longer, he wanted to kiss her. Tenzo had already seen his face and he wasn't someone to talk about other people's lives, so Kakashi pulled his mask down and kissed her.

She was surprised at first but soon kissed him back, her arms intertwined behind his neck.

Yamato was surprised, to say the least. "Oh come one, get a room you two."

That brought Manami back to reality and she pulled back from the kiss. She didn't like such a display, especially in front of someone.

"Sorry about that Yamato."

"So I guess you two are together? Was about time you stepped up Kakashi. How long did you wait to confess to her?"

Manami looked at Kakashi wondering for how long he had feelings for her.

He was clearly embarrassed again, with a hand scratching his neck he said. "Well, you know me. I like to take my time."

"Ok, I see. I have been the third wheel for long enough. I leave you two love birds alone now. Have fun." With a wink, he teleported himself away.

Kakashi put an arm over her shoulder and they began to walk. "So what should we do now?"

"You just had to kiss me in front of poor Yamato. He just got so embarrassed."

"I don't know who got more embarrassed, he or you."

She turned once again red. "Of course I was embarrassed. I don't like such displays in front of others."

"You don't want others to know we are together?"

"No, is not that. We can tell that we are together but you don't have to kiss me to show that we are a couple."

"In my defense, it was your fault. You teased me first and then you got all red and embarrassed while looking so damn cute and I couldn't resist."

"Ok, ok, I may have teased you first but still, don't do something like that again. Let's better discuss what we are going to do now."

They decided to have a date night and went to the movie theater and a nice walk before ending the night at Manami's place.

*** Next morning ***

Manami was just waking up when she looked to her side and saw Kakashi looking at her.

"Good morning handsome. Were you watching me sleep?"

Kakashi had just woken up a moment ago and was admiring how calm and beautiful she was while asleep.

"Just for a little while."

"That's creepy you know?"

He chuckled and leaned forward to kiss her. She was holding back because, you know, morning breath, but Kakashi didn't seem to be bothered by it so she let him deepen the kiss. He slides one hand down her naked body. Then got up again to caress one of her breasts. When he found her nipple he squeezed it.

She gasped and broke the kiss. That's when she saw that Kakashi was pitching a tent under the sheets.

"Didn't you have enough last night?"

"What can I say, that's the effect you have on me when we sleep together."

"Now I understand why you said it was torture not being able to touch or kiss me."

He smiled mischievously at her. "That isn't the case now, isn't it?"

They resumed their lovemaking and after a while, Manami was laying under him feeling her release approach when the doorbell rang. Kakashi holds but she wasn't about to let him stop.

"Don't you dare to let me hang like this. Whoever it is, they can wait. You have begun this now you finish it."

He laughed at her but was more than happy about her command. The doorbell rang a second time but neither of them minded about it.

Manami reached her peak and to muffle down her moans she bit down on his neck. The pain was arousing for Kakashi and adding her pulsating insides he soon followed her. With their ecstasy, they didn't even notice that someone had opened the door and stepped inside the house.

Genma was almost sure Manami was at home. He had already searched for her on the training fields because at that time she would usually train. Was she still asleep? He hoped she hadn't begun to drink again. He opened her door and heard muffled sounds from her bedroom so he went there.

"Good morning sleepyhead. Are you still asleep?"

He froze at her bedroom door when he saw a man with spiky gray hair and a scar over his left eye laying on top of Manami under her bedsheets. Was that Kakashi?

The pair was also shocked to see someone invading their private moment. Manami was the first to react. She threw a pillow at Genma and said annoyed.

"Fuck Genma, get out of here."

He fled the scene but couldn't hold his laughter. "That was about time you two hooked up. Sorry to bring you this Manami, but we have been called for a mission. You have about a half-hour to show up in the Hokage's office," he screamed back while exiting her apartment.

Kakashi let himself fall to bed next to her. She pushed the sheets up to her head in embarrassment. "I can't believe he caught us like that. And I have to go with him on a mission? He is going to tease me so hard."

"That's what you got for not locking up your door."

"Oh, shut up. I need to shower."

While Manami showered, Kakashi prepared her breakfast, or else he assumed she would go out without eating something. They ate together and then he cleaned up the dishes and since he had brought clean clothes, took a shower at her place.

She reached The Hokage's residence almost at the same time as Genma did. He looked surprised to see her already there. "I didn't expect you to come so soon."

His pun didn't pass by unnoticed by her, but she pretended not to notice. That would be a long mission...

Lady Tsunade explained their mission. They were to observe and collect information about a rebel group and evaluate their probability to start a civil war. Shouldn't be hard. They were to head out at noon, so Manami passed by her parents to say goodbye and searched for Kakashi. He was at his place reading his beloved Itcha, Itcha.

"Do you know how long you will be gone?"

"Hard to say. We have some surveillance to do, at least the journey isn't long. Maybe some weeks? Don't believe it will take up to a month."

He stepped to her, brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, and looking her in the eyes he told her "Be careful. Hope we see us when you come back." He kissed her slow and deeply. He tried to put all his love for her in that kiss so no more words were needed when they parted.

After she left he couldn't stay alone at home so he decided to visit Rin and Obito. He bought some flowers and laid them on Rin's grave and by the memorial stone.

"Hey Obito, it's been a while since I spoke to you. Do you remember how I told you about Manami? We are finally together for almost two days now. The time passes so fast when I'm with her and now she has already to depart for a mission. Can you look after her and make sure she will be safe?"


	29. New Sensei

Manami and Genma were heading to their mission. He looked at her for a long time. She sighed. She knew she would regret asking, but he was getting on her nerves with that staring.

"What is it Genma? Spill it out and stop staring."

His mischievous grin was no good sign. "You look different, more relaxed, and happier. Is he that good?"

Manami blushed just thinking about all the things Kakashi had done to her body in only the short time they were together. But no way she would tell that to Genma. They were best friends but their friendship had limits.

"If you think I'm gonna tell you anything about that then you're mistaking."

"You don't have to tell, you blushing was answer enough. I just wonder, how much better is he than me?"

"That's what this is about? You're worried about your performance? Don't worry you are still under my top ten." This was her opportunity to mess with him.

"And how long is your list"

"Uhm, about nine."

"Oh come on, now you're just mean."

"If you really want to know, you were good, no complaining on my end, but with Kakashi it's different. I never thought I would say this but sex with feelings for the other person is different."

Genma was happy for his friend and somehow even envied her. Love seemed to change people after all. "It looks like you have fallen completely for Kakashi. But no wonder with a face like that? Now I see why you said he had no need to cover up. I'm a straight guy but I can tell if a guy is good looking or not, and he is definitely one good looking guy."

"Hey, hands off, he is taken."

Genma teased her some more but before they reached their destiny he got serious. Now was mission time.

They observed the rebel group but after a couple of weeks, they concluded that they weren't strong enough to pose a threat. The leader wasn't that charismatic to get the numbers to form a force big enough to begin an uprise.

On their way home, they stopped to grab something to eat. When they were about to leave the conversation of two guys got their attention.

"It is as I say, Orochimaru is dead. That Uchiha kid, Sasuke, he killed him."

They looked at each other and Manami made a sign for him to approach the men.

"Good afternoon sirs, I'm sorry to interrupt your conversation but have you said Orochimaru is dead?"

The guy told Genma that his brother-in-law had been captured by Orochimaru some time ago and had been kept prisoner but some days ago he was set free by Sasuke and a comrade of his. It seems that the warden of the prison, a redhaired kunoichi, was recruited by Sasuke as well and they intended to get some other guy.

Genma thanked the man for the information and they went out.

"If this is true then it's good news, isn't it?"

"Yes, we have to report it to Tsunade and it needs to be confirmed first." _'If it's true then I know where Sasuke is going next. After his brother Itachi.'_

The rest of the way back they were silent and Manami was lost in her thoughts. She had hoped to see Itachi again but that would probably not happen.

* * *

They were back in Konoha and had made their report to Lady Tsunade.

"There is something more..." Genma told her what they heard about Sasuke and Orochimaru.

"We will need to see into it. Thank you, you are dismissed."

Manami was eager to see Kakashi but she had to wash off the dirt from the road first. It was a bit late but she still went to Kakashi's apartment to see if he was awake. Since the light was one she rang the doorbell.

He opened the door and his face lit up (at least the eye he had open).

"Hey, you."

He pulled her in and as soon as the door was closed he pulled down his mask and kissed her.

"I wasn't expecting you to be back so soon."

"It was an easy mission, no real threat so we came home earlier."

Kakashi made them tea and Manami told him about her mission and the rumor they heard about Orochimaru.

"Sasuke... If it's true then he has become strong. Probably had this planned a while ago. And now most probably he is going after his brother."

Kakashi had learned to read Manami's face well. She was good at hiding her emotions, but her eyes would most of the time betray her. Like this time. Something was bothering her.

"Hey, what is it?" He put his finger on her chin to lift her face up to meet her eyes directly.

She hesitated, wondering what he had seen to know about her struggling. But she couldn't hide it longer from him.

"I have met Itachi when I deserted."

Kakashi got worried about that, he was a wanted criminal after all.

"Does Tsunade know about it?"

"If she does, she never asked about it, but Inoichi has seen my memories, it could be that he has seen Itachi, I don't know."

"And what happened when you met him?"

As much as Manami wanted to tell Kakashi about Itachi's reasons to slaughter his clan, she couldn't. It wasn't her secret to tell and she had promised she would never do it.

"He came to me, probably missed some friendly face or something. At first, I was about to run away from him, but then I thought I could get some information out of him. He was just as sweet and kind as he was in the ANBU and I just can't believe he slaughtered his clan without a reason, you know. We stayed together for some days, he helped me train my Sharingan. Then when I was back he found me again and helped me get my memories back."

He had thought so many times how Itachi could kill his entire clan, even his parents. It just didn't make any sense. He had suspected something must have happened with the situation in the compound that forced his hand.

"So you have your memories back?"

They talked for some more and eventually went to bed.

The next day Manami was searching in Kakashi's kitchen for something to make breakfast, but she wasn't happy with what she found.

The noises she made woke up Kakashi who was curious about what she was doing. When he entered his kitchen he saw her in one of his t-shirts with only underpants beneath it and since she was searching for something in the cabinet he had a privileged view of her behind. He sneaks up on her and gives her a slap. She let out a small scream of surprise.

"Hey Kakashi that isn't funny you scared the hell out of me."

"I just couldn't resist your round nice ass."

He pulled her to him and kissed her lips tenderly but when he was deepening the kiss, Manami stopped.

"We need to get groceries, you have nothing decent to eat."

"What are you talking about, I have plenty of food."

"Yes, but you don't have variety."

They end up eating what Kakashi had but then she convinced him to go to the market.

"You know, we don't need to get food at my place, we could just stay at yours. It is bigger and nicer than mine..."

"I thought about that, but I didn't want to impose. But I still need some things."

He signed but in the end, walked happily by her side.

When they were almost home, Izumo caught up to them. He was a bit surprised to see them together but made no comments.

"Hey Manami, Lady Hokage wanted to talk to you. Is nothing urgent so take your time."

At home, she put her groceries away and said to Kakashi she would best go to see what Lady Tsunade wanted.

"Ok, I'm going to train. See you later then."

_'What does Tsunade want from me? If it isn't urgent then it's not a mission. But what else?'_

* * *

"What? You want me to teach at the academy? Me a Sensei?"

"Stay calm Manami. You won't be on your own right now and if you think teaching isn't for you then I will search for someone else."

Tsunade wanted her to become a Sensei since for the next year there is foreseen to be more children at the academy and they need someone new, and in the other world, she had taught how to fight.

"For now you will only assist Iruka, he is the head instructor and has plenty of experience. I won't force you of course, but I would like for you to try. And who knew, maybe you can even learn your abilities to manipulate the natural chakra."

Manami gave in and agreed but she wasn't happy.

She searched for Kakashi and found him on the training field three.

"Spare with me? I need to spend some energy." She said to him.

He raised an eyebrow at her request.

"Is everything alright?"

"Yea, I tell you afterward what happened."

"Do I need to activate my Sharingan?"

She activated hers and asked back "What do you think?"

The fight was hard but fair. Manami's anger was dissipated with every strong hit she made. The attention she needed to focus on Kakashi's moves helped her to get her head free. No one was getting the upper hand and since it was getting late he interrupted the training.

"Now do you wanna tell me what's up?"

"Lady Tsunade wants me to teach in the academy."

"But that is great. It is an important job. You are going to mold the next generations of shinobis."

"The problem is not that. I don't know how to handle kids. They can be loud, rude, or even sleep during class. How do I handle this? I don't even know how to handle my nice and to think having a classroom full of kids is just too much. What if they don't like me, or even worse, what if they don't respect me. And what if I suck at being a teacher and screw up an entire generation?"

It was obvious she was putting too much thought into it.

"Calm down Manami. Are you starting with your own class right away?"

"No. I'm supposed to assist Iruka, I think he is the head instructor."

"I know Iruka, he is a good teacher and has a great personality. He will for sure tell you what to do and if you have it in you to teach or not. So don't worry that much. Let's go home now, you have beaten me enough for today."

"I'm sorry."

*** Later ***

They were enjoying each other's company at Manami's apartment while reading. As so many times before Kakashi was staring at a page of his book but his mind was wandering. He had something on his mind since Manami told him she didn't know how to handle kids. They were only a short time together, but he had no doubt that she was the love of his life and he was wondering how their kids would be like. Without noticing he was smiling and that caught Manami's attention.

"Good part of the book?"

"Hum?"

"Why are you smiling like a fool?"

He got embarrassed and blushed. She raised an eyebrow in question. "Now I'm curious. What is it?"

"I, I..." He stuttered and got a darker red on his face. But then he found his courage and said in a steady but dreamy voice. "I was thinking about how a wonderful mother you would be one day."

"You what?"

"Since you talked about the kids at the academy I was thinking about what our children will be like."

This was going too fast for her and Kakashi noticed it.

"I'm not saying we should go and make a baby right now. I know that our relationship is only in the beginning, but I can't imagine my future without you, and I look forward to what we will create together."

Manami was just melting with his sweet words. It doesn't matter how scary it was for her to think of being a mother, as long as Kakashi was around she knew their kids would be ok. So she let herself take in the daydream of his.

"How many do you would like to have?" He smiled back at her and they spent some hours planning their future together.


	30. When heroes die

It was a rainy day, fitting for Manami's mood for her first day at the academy and then Kakashi had to go out on a mission too. It was impossible to truly confirm that Sasuke had killed Orochimaru, but everything was pointing that way, and so they searched for him.

"Good morning are you Iruka?"

The man had a scar running horizontally through the bridge of his nose and brown hair up in a ponytail with a complete ninja outfit on.

He smiled at her. "Yes, and you must be Manami I assume. Welcome to the academy. I will show you around."

Iruka was really nice to her and she calmed down, at least until the first class began. He introduced her to the class but most of the time she would only observe, only in the practical exercises she helped. Well, the first day wasn't that bad.

Kakashi was back late at night. He was visibly upset.

She hugged him. "Hey, what happened in your mission?"

"We were too late. Sasuke has killed Itachi" (she stiffened at that news which made him embrace her harder) "a guy that says he's Madara showed up and has taken Sasuke and his brother's body."

Manami took in the information. Could it be the real Madara? But he was a figure from the history book, how could he live for so long? And Itachi... He has died the way he wanted but it's so sad that his sacrifice will never be recognized.

* * *

Manami was preparing herself for her lesson. She remembered the basics but to teach she had to go over it. Kakashi had gone training so she was alone at home.

They were living practically together now. Kakashi hadn't brought all his things but she had made him some space in the closet so he could have some clothes at her place. And the next step was for Kakashi to be officially introduced as her boyfriend to her parents. It was her father's birthday today and they would have dinner there. She still had to smile when she remembered how Kakashi had reacted when she asked him if he would like to go to her parents.

*** Flashback ***

Manami just came back from her parent's home and Kakashi was relaxing while reading his book.

"So tomorrow is my dad's birthday and my mom invited me for dinner to celebrate. I asked her if I could take someone with me."

He looked at her for a while before it hit him.

"You mean me?"

"Yes, of course I mean you if you would like."

He first turned white and then red. "What am I going to say to them and what if your father asks me what my intentions towards you are?"

"You say the truth, that you love to ravish me."

She teased him. But when she saw the face he made she continued.

"Don't say that the fearless copy ninja is afraid to meet his girlfriend's family. Besides you have already met my parents, only my brother and his family not."

"What, he is going too?"

"Of course."

He became even more nervous if it's possible.

*** End of flashback ***

Later when they had dinner (Kakashi had pulled down his mask, he didn't want to make a bad impression), the conversation was casual...

"You are that shinobi that stayed at Manami's bedside when she came back, aren't you?" Manami loved her sister in law especially because she would just say the things that came to her mind.

Nervous Kakashi blushed and put a hand to his neck. "Yes, I was worried about her for not waking up..."

"But back then you weren't together yet, weren't you?"

"No, but Manami was a colleague and a friend so I wanted to be sure she was alright."

"Are you always that worried about all your friends? That must be tiresome."

Manami was sipping her wine and enjoying the show, but when Kakashi gave her a look for help she pitied him and helped him out.

"Come on, enough talk about me and Kakashi. We are here to celebrate dad's birthday.

After dinner, the women were in the kitchen cleaning up the dishes.

"You took your time to choose a man but he is quite handsome and one can see you're in love. So when can we expect the wedding?" Her sister in law asked, leaving Manami quite embarrassed.

"And children, I want some more grandchildren." Her mother added.

"You calm down a bit, we aren't that long together."

"I always thought you would end up with our neighbor's son, Genma. As children, you would always be around him and would just smile like a fool when he appeared."

"Please stop mom. You embarrassed me enough for today."

When Manami got to the living room Kakashi was playing with her niece.

"Why do you have one eye covered? Are you a pirate?"

"Well actually I'm a ninja pirate, you know."

She smiled at the cuteness and started a conversation with her father. In the corner of her eye, she could see how her brother got to Kakashi and sent his daughter to her mother and pulled him aside. _'What's he doing?'_

Manami's brother pulled Kakashi to the porch to have a 'conversation'.

"Do you want a smoke?"

Kakashi hadn't smoked for years but to bounding, he accepted one.

"So, you seem quite fond of my sister. Do you love her?"

He hesitated to answer. Not because he had doubts about his love, because he didn't, but he had never said it out loud. But eventually, he said in a firm and steady voice.

"Yes, I do. I love her."

"That's good. I know she is stronger than I am, and that you probably know of more ways to kill me than what I think it's possible, but if you hurt her, I will hunt you down."

"If the day comes that I hurt her I will gladly wait for you. I would die for her if needed."

"Glad this is settled then. I guess welcome to the family."

Manami stepped out of the house.

"Here you are. Is getting late Kakashi, let us get home."

Her brother looked at her surprised. "Home? Do you live together without marrying? Mom just going to love this."

"Oh shut up. I'm no kid anymore." That said she showed him her tongue.

Later after Manami had 'thanked' Kakashi for accompanying her, she fell asleep in his arms. He was thinking back at dinner. He had lost his family but after being with her he had hoped one day to have his own family. But as it seemed he had gained one sooner than he expected. He snuggled up on her and fell asleep.

* * *

The next day Manami got home early and decided to clean. As usual, she put on her headphones and loud music.

Meanwhile, Kakashi was slowly walking home. He needed some time to digest the events of the day. Jiraiya had died and the saddest part was telling Naruto. It was hard on him but he would get over it eventually.

When he came home Manami was vacuuming with her headphones one and didn't notice him. Some things never changed and he hoped she never did. She had become a constant in his life, his rock, and he couldn't imagine his life without her anymore. He was happy that she was now at the academy, that meant she would go less out on missions and therefore didn't risk her life that much.

When she realized he was watching her she stopped, pulled down her headphones, and say.

"Hey you, for how long have you been there."

"Not long."

He pulled his mask down and kissed her, only a short kiss for saying hello. She could read him as well as he could read her and realized that something wasn't right.

"What is it? Has something happened?"

"Yes, Jiraiya is dead. I was just with Lady Tsunade telling Naruto."

He got her full attention now, the vacuum cleaner was forgotten.

"Oh no. Come here." She hugged him. "Do you want tea or something to eat?"

"Something stronger would be better."

They sat down by the table and drank some sake while Kakashi told her what had happened. Only for her hearing him out and being there for him, he felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulder.

He leaned forward to kiss her witch caught her by surprise, but she mimicked him and they shared a slow kiss. When he pulled back a smile was left on her lips and that put one on his too.

"I love you." He said.

Manami's expression was of surprise.

"I..." She began to say but didn't end it.

He was expecting hesitation from her. She had even more struggles to express her feelings than he did. But in the end, she didn't need to say it. He knew. He would like to hear her say it but he could wait.

"You don't have to say it back. I know you love me too as you knew I loved you even before I said it. So take your time."

Her expression relaxed and soon a mischievous smile spread across her face.

"You're a bit cocky, aren't you?"

He chuckled.

"Of course I am. I mean, look at me."

She did look him up and down and he could see her eyes get a hunch darker with desire.

* * *

A few days later Manami was going to lunch with Iruka. They had some more time than usual and he would use it to talk to her about her growth as a sensei. But then they heard some commotion and some explosions while buildings began to crumble down.

"What the hell is going on?" She tried to make some sense in the chaos that just broke out.

"Best we go find out."

As they were walking they stumbled over two fellow shinobis that were half-buried under some rubble. Manami was trying to free one of them as Iraku helped the other, but a figure with Akatsuki coat, orange hair, and some strange piercings showed up asking about Naruto. Iraku would never say anything and that guy was about to stab him but Kakashi shows up and stopped him.

"Go and get them to the hospital." He said to both of them.

Manami only needed one glance at Kakashi to know he was all business. He wasn't trying to get her out of harm's way, he was only concerned about the wounded colleagues. So she tried to hurry up so she could come back and help him.

The streets were chaotic and the hospital was getting overflowed rapidly. Iruka would help other wounded to get there, but Manami thought that the best way to stop the injured to grow in numbers was to end the attacks, so she hurried back where Kakashi was.

He wasn't alone anymore. Next to him were Choza and Choji and a bunch of other shinobi. Before she could reach them, they launched a collective attack on the enemy (there were two of them now) but the oranged-hair guy made a move as well and an energy wall hit them hard. Good thing that she was still some distance away and wasn't hurt, but the others weren't that lucky. Only Kakashi, Choza, and Choji were standing. She joined them.

"Good one more to help." Kakashi was concerned about her well-being of course, but he knew her capabilities and she would be an asset, so of course, her presence was a welcome sign on the battlefield.

He began to explain what he had learned from that Akatsuki member called Pain. His capabilities were to pull and repel anything. But he had a small window where he needed to recharge and he wanted to use that. He explained his plan and soon they began the attack.

Manami used her abilities to go underground and hide a chain. Then she got out of the ground to start a diversion attack so that Choza and his son could pull the chain and trap Pain. Manami was hit and sent to the ground when Kakashi launched his Chidori, but the other, bigger guy stepped in front of their opponent and took the hit. An explosion followed and Manami was buried and knocked out.

When she gained her conscience back and crawled out of the rubber she could hear Kakashi call out for Choji that he should run. Then she saw him with more than half of his body trapped between the wreckage and unable to move. He used his Kamui technique on a missile that was going behind Choji. When she reached him he was barely conscious.

"Manami," He said weakly.

"Hold on Kakashi, don't speak, I get you out of here." She was trying not to panic when she registered how weak his voice was.

"I'm going to die."

"No, don't say that. I'm going to free you and bring you to the hospital." Tears began threatening to overflow her eyes.

"I love you, don't forget."

"No Kakashi, don't leave me." He was losing his strength to hold his head steady.

She took his face in her hands and said looking him in the eye.

"I love you too, so please stay."

He couldn't even move his lips into a smile any more but hearing those words from her before he died made him happy. Then his pupils dilated and his muscles got completely numb. He had taken his last breath.

"No, no, no, no. Don't do this to me." She couldn't believe this was happening, that he was gone. How could this happen? She needed to see his face one last time. Pulling his mask down she kissed his lips and put the mask up again.

The pain she was feeling in her chest was like thousands of needles piercing her heart and she had difficulty breathing. She wanted to scream but her throat was too tight for that.

The tears didn't let her see his face right and the anger began to rise. She felt how her chakra was running wild in her while she absorbed all she could from her surroundings. It didn't matter what would happen to her anymore, all she wanted was to avenge Kakashi's death.

Her heart was dead and all she could think was her hatred for the enemy. A sharp pain began in her left eye and her vision became even more blurry in that eye. But she ignored it and got up. But as she did that, the world spun around her and blackness had overcome her. In a blink of the eye, she was gone, leaving no trace behind.

* * *

The events unfolded and Naruto could convince Nagato to stop his attack and he would end up bringing all his victims back to life.

Kakashi managed to get out of the wreckage and began to look for Manami. He couldn't find her, but when he saw that everyone was still alive he relaxed. She would be there somewhere and they would find each other again. His student needed him now, so he went to Jiraiya's grave and got Naruto before he fell to the ground and brought him back to the village, at least what was left of it.

Everyone was cheering and Kakashi smiled at his former student that had definitely surpassed him. But he was uneasy because there still was no sign from Manami. He then saw Becas.

"Do you know where Manami is?"

Becas was at a loss, she was exasperating. "No, I was about to tell you, I can't feel her presence anywhere. That must mean she is dead."

"But that makes no sense, everyone has been brought back." Now he began to panic. What the hell happened to Manami?


	31. On the edge of the abyss

The destruction of Konoha was devastating. It reminded times of war. They had improvised shelters for everyone with tents and began with the cleaning of the wreckage and recovering what could be used for rebuilding. Kakashi helped where he could. He had many responsibilities. As a Jonin he had responsibilities towards Konoha and its inhabitants for protection, cleaning, and rebuilding. As a team captain, he needed to guide his juniors and as a boyfriend, he needed to find Manami. With that much to do, he didn't have time to rest. The last time he had slept was the night before Pain's attack some days ago. He had lost count on the hours that had passed. He was only functioning because of the military ration and his will.

He had asked his ninken to search for Manami and the freshest scent of her was where Kakashi had died. He remembered how she had recovered from Pain's attack and had spoken to him before he died. She had told him she loved him. ' _Or was that just my imagination thrived with the distress of dying?'_ But since Choji had seen her by his side that must have happened, at least the part where she was still alive at that point.

Becas was convinced she was dead since she couldn't sense her. She refused to talk to anyone now and acted like a normal cat. But Kakashi wouldn't give up searching for her. He couldn't stop or else desperation would take over him and he would fall into a deep and dark abyss. He had been on the edge of that abyss for several times now. When he didn't do something his mind would wander and he questioned himself if Becas was right. But he was a man of logic and it just made no sense. If everyone who had died was back why wasn't she? She could have been badly hurt and wasn't able to move but then his ninken should have been able to follow her scent and find her.

He was once again breaking his head with that question while eating another military pill. He didn't even notice how Genma was heading his way until he was right next to him.

"Hey, how are you holding up? Any news from her?" He was almost as eager to hear news from her as was Kakashi.

"No nothing."

Genma looked at Kakashi. His friend had a dark circle under his visible eye, and it was bloodshot, with his head hanging low.

"When was the last time you slept?"

"I'm ok, there is much to do. Everyone is tired at this point."

"But you need to rest too. You won't be of any help if you fall over with exhaustion."

Kakashi said nothing. He knew Genma was right but he couldn't. There was so much he needed to do.

"Look. You rest, I will cover for you. A few hours won't hurt anyone and afterward, you have more energy and things will work out better."

He ended up giving in. He searched for a quiet place and closed his eyes. In a few minutes, he was asleep.

* * *

Manami's brother was looking for Manami or Kakashi. She hadn't been by their parents yet so he was worried about her wellbeing. That wasn't like her not showing up. He found instead Genma. _'He will know of Manami for sure.'_

Genma saw Manami's brother coming up to him. _'Shit, what am I going to tell him. Her family is for sure asking what could have happened to her for not showing up.'_

"Good to see you Genma I have a question. Have you seen Manami? Do you know where she is?"

Genma turned his senbon nervous in his mouth. "Hey, how is your family, your parents?"

It didn't pass him by that Genma was trying to evade his question by asking another one. "We are all alright, but worried about Manami because she hasn't shown up yet."

Genma couldn't lie to him. He was her brother after all and deserved to know the truth. "We don't know what happened to her. Until now it seems no one has seen her."

"Not even Kakashi?"

"No. He has died actually, and at that point, She was by his side, but after that, no one knows where she went."

Manami's brother clenched his teeth. "Do you know where he is?"

Kakashi was getting up, he had slept for only four hours, but felt much better now. He saw Manami's brother coming in his directions with an expression of fury and hurt on his face. (He had the same facial expression as his sister so for Kakashi it wasn't difficult to read him). He hit his jaw hard. For a civilian he had a hurt punch, that would leave a bruise. Kakashi had seen the hit coming, of course, but he let him hit anyway. He had promised he would not hurt Manami and that he would keep her safe, and now she is gone. Of course, her brother was pissed and searching for someone to blame.

"I hope you died protecting her and that she will show up soon."

Kakashi held his jaw. "I will do whatever it takes to find her. I go to hell if I need to, but for now, we have much to do. My ninken are searching for her and as soon they find something I will let you know."

Her brother let hang his head. "I'm sorry for hitting you, I just... We aren't as close as we were as kids, but she is still my little sister and I love her. We thought once that she had died and we had mourned her. I don't want to go through it again. But the anguish of not knowing what happened to her is even worse."

Kakashi understood him. Since he came back from death and realized she wasn't around, he couldn't breathe right. It was like she had left a hole in his chest. So he doesn't blame him for the punch. Hell, he wanted to punch something himself. Only his sense of duty kept him sane. He promised him again that as soon as he found something he would tell him or their parents.

* * *

To add to all the problems, the fifth Hokage wasn't waking up. She had exhausted herself to heal every one of the citizens. No one could say when she would wake up and even if she would do so. The elders and the Daimyo wanted to nominate a new Hokage and with the elder council, they decided to be Danzou.

When Naruto learned that Danzou had declared Sasuke a rogue ninja and that he was to be killed at sign, Kakashi had some trouble controlling him so that he and Sakura wouldn't go confront the new Hokage. _'Great more problems...'_

Yamato came by and asked him if he had some time. His friend looked exhausted. He had been using his wood release to rebuild the buildings.

When they came before a big house, Kakashi gasped. It was a copy of his old family estate.

"I know you are upset because of Manami's disappearance so I wanted to surprise you."

Before all this Kakashi had asked his friend if he could help repair his old home. Since his father's suicide, Kakashi had left that house. It was just too big and full of bad memories and so he left it. Later he had trained his ninken there and the house became theirs. But then Manami came into his life and he had the idea to repair that old house and ask her to move in with him... Now seeing it in his full glory was just like a knife to his heart. But Tenzo just meant well.

"Thank you, it just looks like the original."

Later Sai came by because Naruto wanted to talk to them. He was beaten pretty badly. He wanted to talk to the Raikage and asked for them to go with him. Kakashi was reluctant to go, he didn't want to go away from Konoha without knowing about Manami. But on the other hand, if his ninken hadn't found her in the village, maybe leaving it wouldn't be so bad. Who knows if by destiny he would find her on the road...


	32. Working her way back

Manami was floating. She was engulfed in complete darkness and silence. It was so peaceful. Or was she falling? The silence began to suffocate her and then she fell hard on the ground. It was a hard and dark surface. She was blended by some lights before she was hit hard and lost her senses.

When she came to her again she was in a hospital bed. Her mind was foggy, she needed some time to understand what had happened. And then she remembered seeing Kakashi half-buried and dead. Her heart arched while tears were running down her face. The machine that was measuring her heartbeat began to increase her beeps. She ripped the sensor from her finger but it only made worse because now it was a continuous sound. She didn't mind it and tried to get up while ignoring the pain she felt in her body. She noticed then that her left eye was covered and right after a nurse came in.

"What are you doing, you need to stay in bed."

Manami didn't listen and continued to try getting up. She needed to know what had happened to her parents and the rest of the village. When she tried to rip out the catheter the nurse held her down and called for help.

Soon two more nurses came in and probably gave her some sedative because she fell back asleep...

When she woke up again she was tied to her bed, frustrated she closed her eyes and listened to her heartbeat. But there were other sounds, something that she hadn't heard for years. She looked outside the window and that's when she saw it. There was a street and cars were driving by.

_'No, this can't be. How am I back in this world again?'_

Her heartbeat accelerated and a nurse came in.

"Hey, it's ok honey. You're safe here, you don't need to worry. I will tell the doctor that you're awake."

The doctor came in.

"So how do you feel? Are you calm now?"

"What happened to me?"

"I hoped you could tell me. You have been hit by a car and have suffered a concussion. When you came in you had a respiratory failure because of blood in her lungs. We have scanned your body through a magnetic resonance so we could find out from where the blood was coming but couldn't detect any outer damage. And then your left eye was bleeding. Your eye pressure was completely out of control, your eye nerve had already some damage, so we had to operate on you."

"I felt a sharp pain in my eye end then tried to cross the street but I fell..."

That was the best she could think of for an excuse right now.

The doctor proceeded then to check her and after he left, two policemen came in. They said their names and told her they were investigating her disappearance.

"Miss Kaigan, we would like to ask you some questions. The way you disappeared almost six years ago was strange so an investigation has been opened back then, and from the medical report that we received, we have to ask. Were you kidnapped and mistreated?"

"No, I left in free will. And why have you access to my medical file? Shouldn't that be confidential?"

"Yes it normally is, but since you have scars and recent bone fractures that indicate you being abused and in combination with your investigation we had access. We understand that you're scared but you don't have to be. You are in safety now."

"As I said, no one has kidnapped me."

The two policemen looked between each other like they would know better. One of them took out some photos.

"Can you tell me who this man is?"

"That is Kakashi Hatake."

"Do you know where he is?"

Manami hesitated because she didn't want to say it out loud. It just hurts too much. But they kept staring at her so she had to.

"He is dead."

She couldn't hold in the tears and they began to fall against her will.

"Was he holding you against your will?"

Manami snapped. She would not allow someone even just to think that Kakashi had somehow hurt or forced her to do something against her will, not even in this world.

"Dammit, how many times do I have to tell you I left because I wanted to!"

They insisted for sometimes more like "why come back now" and "what did you do in that time".

She said she had tried a new lifestyle and had traveled the world with only a backpack and a minimum of money to spend. But before her accident, she had lost her backpack.

"And the scars?"

"Accidents happen, especially if you like hiking."

Finally, they seemed to have all their answers and left her alone.

She was trying to remember in detail what had happened before she came to this world again. She closed her eyes and thought back.

_Kakashi was dead and she became furious, she wanted vengeance so she let herself absorb all the chakra that surrounded her. Her left eye began to hurt and she couldn't see right through it so she closed it. Then she looked for that Pain but one last glance to Kakashi. She didn't want to be there anymore, she wanted to go away and leave the pain behind. She opened her left eye again and that's when the blackness engulfed her..._

_'Could it be that I have achieved the Mangekyo Sharingan and have the ability to travel between worlds or dimensions or whatever this world is?'._

That would be a reasonable possibility. So now the problem, could she gather enough chakra to travel back? And what about her operation, could it have damaged her Sharingan? Her head began to hurt from all her problems so she decided to rest so she could leave the hospital sooner.

Later Manami had a visit.

"Hello, Manami it's been a while."

It was Isabella. She looked older but it was definitely her.

"Isabella? What are you doing here? How did you know about me?"

"I was still listed as your contact person in case of emergency. It seems your fingerprints are still in the system from when you were a kid."

Manami was happy to see her again. She had thought never to see her friend again. She opened her arms.

"Come here, I want to hug you."

Isabella didn't wait for a second and hugged her as well as she could.

"I have missed you so much. Why didn't you tell me something for all these years?"

Manami thought it would be best to go with the same story as the policemen.

"And for that new lifestyle, you had to completely shut out your friends?"

She looked ashamed. This was a good excuse for the police, but not for her friend. But now she couldn't go back.

"I'm sorry about that. I didn't intend to shut you out of my life. But things happened and it never seemed the best time to contact you."

"Things happened? Do you know that an investigation was opened because you disappeared like that? It was even put out a search warrant for Kakashi."

Manami still couldn't hear his name without feeling pain in her chest.

Isabella noticed her reaction and sight. "I'm sorry to be so harsh to you. Has something happened between you and Kakashi?"

"Yes, we were together. And then he died."

"Sorry to hear that. Is that the reason why you came back?"

Manami just nodded and Isabella hugged her again.

"Do you have where to go after leaving the hospital?"

"No, not really."

"Ok, so you will stay with us, I insist. Now rest and I'll be there for you when you are released."

She kissed her on the cheek and left. Manami was lost in her thoughts. The silence in her room makes her go crazy so she turns on the TV. After some publicity, the news began.

_"And now to the news of former Olympic champion Manami Kaigan. Her former business partner and friend has just left the hospital where Manami is interned."_

The image switched to a hospital entrance and she could see Isabella coming out, the reporter began right away to ask questions.

_"How is Manami? Have you seen her? Is she awake? What can you say about her wellbeing?"_

_"She is conscient and will hopefully soon be released, now excuse me."_

The image switched back to the studio.

_"Manami Kaigan disappeared about six years ago leaving no trace behind. One of the last footage of her was in her gym where she had a 'friendly' fight with this man."_

They showed a video of her how she fought with swords against Kakashi.

"His name is Kakashi and was suspected to be involved in Manami's disappearance but nothing more could be known of him."

_'Yea, right. I was known in this world as one of the youngest Olympic winners at the time. Of course, the media would want to know what had happened to me.'_

Manami switch channel. She couldn't bear to see Kakashi, it just hurts too much.

* * *

Some days later she could leave the hospital. They took off her bandage that covered her eye, but she couldn't be exposed to direct sunlight for a while. With the time she had been unconscious, it had already passed two weeks since she was in that world.

On the outside were reporters waiting for her. Isabella had suggested for her to make a statement or else they would just bother her more. She had some experience from when Manami had disappeared. So Manami answered some questions.

"Where have you been?"

"I was out traveling the world."

"Were you alone? What about that guy Kakashi? Your friend said you left with him."

Manami was counting on them asking about Kakashi so She controlled her expression to not reveal her feelings.

"Yes, I traveled with him."

"And the accident you were involved in? The driver said you appeared out of nowhere."

"I had a sharp pain on my eye and couldn't see right where I was walking and when I was trying to cross the street I stumbled to the ground and the car hit me. Probably the driver didn't see me because I was on the ground. But I don't blame him."

The main questions were answered but they kept asking like.

"Are you and Kakashi lovers? Did you leave to hide something? Did you just come back now or for how long are you here?"

She excused herself and walked to the car where Isabella was waiting for her.

She lived in the house that had belonged to Manami. But she had made some renovations and it just looked gorgeous.

Isabella looked at her friend.

"Well you gave the house to me so after we got married we moved in together here. Hope you don't mind?"

"Of course not. I'm happy to see how wonderful this house is now. And I don't want it back. I hope I'm here just for some more weeks."

Isabella parked the car and looked at her.

"You intend to leave again? Why?"

"I need to get my life back, so I don't intend to stay here forever."

They entered her home and Alex, Isabella's husband, came greeting them with a toddler in his arms.

"Welcome back Manami."

Isabella took the little girl from his arm and said to her.

"Manami, I want you to meet someone. This is aunt Manami."

The child looked curious to her and Manami was moved.

"Hello, little Manami. You named your daughter after me?"

"Yes, of course. You have been so generous to us that we wanted to remember you."

Manami didn't know what to say. She was moved. They showed her the house. It didn't look the same. Now it had a second floor and was all modern.

"This is the guest room. You can stay here as long as you want. When you feel well enough, you can see the gym. We have made some alterations too."

Manami was still feeling weak, so she rested for the rest of the day. During dinner, the conversation was nice until Alex began to question her.

"Now that you're back, what are your requests? Do you want half of the gym back? And the money that you gave Isabella?"

He was trying not to sound accusatory but failed.

"Alex, do we really need to discuss this now? If Manami wants that, then it's her right to have it, because it was hers in the beginning."

Manami didn't like what Alex said, but still, she said: "Don't worry, I don't want anything back. I already told Isabella that I don't intend to stay. All I asked for is to give me shelter, food, and clothes for a while before I can move on."

"Yea, that is something I don't understand too. Don't you have brought clothing? And what about money. Did you go traveling without a penny?"

"Alex that's enough. Manami is a guest, she has given me much and you benefit from it too. So now that she needs our help we will help her."

Manami didn't want to cause a problem for her friend, so she stood up and said.

"If me staying is causing a problem, then I will leave right away."

"No pleas Manami, I have missed you so much, please stay."

Alex took a big inhale and a long exhale. "Ok, if it means so much then she can stay. You're right, we have a good life and a big part is because of you Manami."

After dinner, Manami excused herself and left for her room.

* * *

Some days had passed and Manami was trying to collect her chakra. She had concluded that it was harder to gather it in her than in a seal. So she was now drawing her second kanji. When would she have enough to activate her Sharingan?

Gathering chakra was hard, so she tried to distract herself. She went to the gym and was amazed at how nice it looked. Isabella had bought the store next door and had expanded the gym. She had thought that with Manami's absence the people would leave, but then her video with Kakashi went viral, and adding to the mystery of her disappearance the gym got popular. Manami was happy that that had been the case.

She had missed driving. She would drive to her favorite places and Isabella and little Manami would accompany her whenever they could. They had some good times and Manami would cherish those memories.

As time went by Manami had filled her fifth seal. She had thought about telling Isabella the truth. She had been such a good friend to her that she felt bad to just leave again without explaining things. But how would she believe? She would only believe if she would see it. That could be a way to test her Sharingan. It was decided, she would try to show her world to Isabel in a Genjutsu.

When little Manami was asleep Manami took some of her seals and made Isabela sit on the couch.

"Isabella I want to show you something. This maybe doesn't work, but if it does then you will understand me better."

She then absorbed the chakra into her and directed it to her eyes. Isabella had big eyes and an open mouth when Manami's eyes turned black with a white pattern.

"How the fuck did you do that."

Manami didn't answer her instead, she began her genjutsu. She showed her Konohagakure, her family, and friends. She explained about chakra, ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu. She talked about her past, the mission that brought her to that world, how she fell in love with Kakashi... She left out the bad part of course. She didn't show her the death that she had witnessed or that she had caused as well as how she was tortured. Then she ended her genjutsu.

She was exhausted. That was way more difficult than she had thought.

Isabella needed some time to process all the information.

"Wow." Was all she could say.

"That was unbelievable. Was that all true? And you came from that word? Now I know why you always said that you couldn't tell me. There would be no way I would believe it. Even by you showing me it still seems so..."

"Out of this world?"

"Haha. Yes, exactly. So why did you come back?"

She explained the events that had led her to that world.

"So he's really dead. And you loved him."

"Yes, and I was only able to tell him that right before his left breath."

"Thank you so much for showing me this. But that means if you can go back then I will never see you again?"

"I'm sorry about that, but I can't go on traveling between worlds like that. Every time I use my Mangekyou Sharingan it damages my eye and I can become blind."

* * *

The days passed and their friendship was stronger than ever before, so when the day that Manami would try to activate her Mangekyou Sharingan had come she felt blue, but it had already passed over one month since she left Konoha and it was more than time to go back.

Manami said goodbye to her friend and wished her all the happiness in this world. The two of them hugged tight and spilled some tears.

She kissed her on her cheek before taking some steps back. First, she took the chakra from some seals and activated her Sharingan. Then, using the remaining ones, she infused her left eye with more chakra. The black and white pattern of that eye changed again and soon she was gone.

Alex was just coming into the house when he saw Manami fade away and couldn't believe what he just saw. Isabella let herself fall to the ground and he comforted her.

"What was that?"

Isabella told him Manami's story and he only believed her because he had seen her disappear.


	33. Moving in

Kakashi had earlier arrived from the land of iron where he had accompanied Naruto to speak to the Raikage. But the excursion didn't end there. Sasuke had invaded the Kage summit and afterward killed Danzou. He was about to kill Sakura as well when Kakashi stopped him. He has given himself completely to the darkness and Kakashi could only blame himself. He had failed as a teacher. He had to be more present for Sasuke. How could he do this after knowing what Itachi had done to protect Konoha?

And then there was Madara who had declared war with all shinobi nations and now Kakashi was suggested by the others Kages to be the next Hokage. How could he handle all that? If only Manami were by his side, then he would have the strength to overcome this. But it had been over a month without any sign of her.

Kakashi was now laying on his mattress on the ground of his living room, the rest of the house was still empty. There in the darkness and alone after so many eventful days on the road, desperation took over him. He had told himself that Manami would eventually appear but now, that just didn't seem possible. He curled himself up to a ball and cried.

Becas had decided to stick to him when he was around in the village. She knew Manami meant a lot to him too and when he would admit to himself that she was gone, he would need her comfort. It seemed as if that was the case now. She felt his sadness and lay down by his side to comfort him. He was glad for her presence. He petted her and held her close to him. She was the only thing that was left from Manami now.

The next morning Kakashi had decided to go to the memorial stone to talk to Obito. He was drinking water when Becas suddenly lifted her head and looked around. Kakashi got curious but since she acted like a normal cat, he didn't even bother to ask her. When she decided to talk again then she would.

"Manami, I can feel her again."

Then she got up and ran out of the house. Kakashi choked on his water but even so, he stormed out behind her.

_'Is this true? Is she really alive?'_

* * *

Manami fell a couple of meters. _'The ground wasn't supposed to be so much down...'_ That's when she saw the crater in which the village was now being rebuilt in. She had some trouble putting her mind around the destruction that had occurred to her home. _'How many have died that day? Am I lucky enough for my family to have survived this?'_

Her left eye hurts but wasn't bleeding. Were the eye drops to reduce the eye pressure enough to counter the damage that the use of the Mangekyo Sharingan caused to her eye? She then began to walk not sure where to start to search for her family. Would her parents' home still exist? Then she felt a present coming closer to her. When she looked to the side she opened her arms and Becas jumped into them.

"It's really you. I thought you were dead!" Said Becas happy in her arms.

Manami squeezed her a bit tighter to her chest.

"I'm sorry about that. I have missed you too."

Kakashi couldn't believe it was really her. He saw how Becas jumped into her arms and he froze in his track just admiring her. The smile on her lips, while she held Becas, was just breathtaking. Where had she been? Why took her so long to show up? Well, that didn't matter, important was that she was back and seemed to be alright. Then she looked at him.

Manami just felt the presence of Kakashi and for a split second she thought that was impossible, but when she looked up she saw him standing there looking at her. Becas jumped out of her embrace letting the two of them alone. As soon as their eyes met they closed the distance between them.

Kakashi didn't care about the people that were around, he just wanted to kiss the love of his life and forget about the anguish he felt with her absence, so he pushed down his mask and pressed his lips against hers.

Manami was shocked to see him alive but happiness overtook her right after. She put her hands on his face to maintain his features covered as she kissed him back with the same passion he was kissing her. They became out of breath and stopped the kiss, resting their foreheads against one another. Kakashi pulled his mask back up and Manami let go of his face, intertwining her arms around his neck. She took in his scent. She had been so sure never to see him again and here he was.

"How... I have seen you die. How is this possible."

"I did die, like many others that day. But we were all resurrected by Nagato, the one that was controlling all Pains."

"And my parents and my brother?"

"They are alright and eager to see you again for sure. And you, where have you been? What happened to you?"

"I achieved the Mangekyo Sharingan on my left eye and without knowing I teleported myself to the other world. It took me some time to have enough chakra to come back. I'm sorry to make you wait."

"Don't worry, important is that you're back now. Do you wanna see your parents? I have promised them to tell about you, as soon as I got news."

Manami nodded, but then she remembered.

"Kakashi I wanted to say... I love you."

He smiled "I know. I have heard you say it before I died. I love you too."

They went together to where her parents were staying for the time being. They walked and talked about what had happened to them more in detail.

"Here we are. I have some things to take care of but as soon as I can, I will find you again."

He kissed her cheek through his mask and left. He hated to leave her so soon, but he had things to take care of. The council to choose the new Hokage would meet in the afternoon and he needed to be present. Now that Manami was back he felt for the first time to be ready to take on the responsibilities of becoming the next Hokage. He also still wanted to go to the memorial stone to thank Obito for looking after Manami and bring her back to him. Then, he would utilize the time to prepare something at home to celebrate her return.

Manami passed the time with her family. She needed to come up with new lies to excuse her absence but in the end, she enjoyed their company. Their home wasn't rebuilt yet and they were staying in a temporary shelter with other civilians. But at times like this, important where the lives, the other things could be replaced, but a life, never.

* * *

Kakashi was relieved. News of Lady Tsunade's recovery reached the council just in time before he would be named the new Hokage. Now he was looking for Manami to spend the rest of the evening with her. She was roaming through the streets. He came up behind her and hugged her. She wasn't surprised, she had felt his presence.

"I can't believe that a single person could do so much damage. In the other world, they have weapons who could destroy the entire planet, but a single person, to have such destructive powers..."

She turned to face him.

"But at least Naruto could save the day. Your student has surpassed you."

"Yes, that's how things work. The new generations will surpass the old one eventually."

She hummed in agreement.

"Come, let's get home."

She looked at him curiously.

"Home? And where is that? My and your apartment were destroyed."

Kakashi blushed. He had forgotten that he didn't have asked her to move in with him. But quick thinking he said:

"It's a surprise, come let's go."

They were standing in front of a big house. _'It's nice'_ , Manami thought.

"What are we doing here?"

"This is a replica of my family estate. Tenzo has made it for me. Before the attack, I had asked him if he could help me restore it. Because of the time that it was empty and home for my ninken, it was in poor condition. I wanted to rebuild it because..." He took her hand and looked her deep in the eyes. "Because I wanted to ask you to move in with me."

Manami smiled. She was more than ready to take that step in their relationship. It didn't matter if he had a big house or not. She would still want to live with him even in his old apartment.

"Well, since my apartment was destroyed I am kind of in need of a new place to stay, and that house looks like it has a spare room for me."

"And that would be the only reason why you would move in?"

"I could think of another reason."

"Is that so?"

He lifted her up, bridal style, and took her in the house.

"You're crazy, what are you doing?"

"Isn't it tradition for the man to carry his woman in their new house the first time she enters it?"

"This is only after the wedding you silly man. I only accepted to move in with you, not marry you."

He opened the door and let her down on the inside.

"That's no problem, when we marry I will carry you again."

Manami was about to comment on that, but then she saw what Kakashi had done. On the entrance were rose petals on the ground that led to the living room where the table was set. Candles were ready to be lighted and a bunch of flowers was on one side of the table. The smell of food was in the air.

She turned to him to see he had already taken off his mask and his face made her smile grow bigger. She had missed him so much.

"I thought you said you were busy. And still, you got time to prepare this?"

"I hoped you would accept my invitations to live together, and so we would need to celebrate."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him tenderly. But he held her close to him and deepened the kiss. She tried to speak between the kisses.

"Shouldn't we eat before the food get's cold?"

"Are you that hungry?"

"Not that much as I am for you." She blushed for saying it aloud, but she needed to feel him now.

She didn't have to say no more. He pinned her against the wall and his hands found their way right under her shirt, kissing her roughly. Manami was already opening up his west zipper to take it off but was interrupted with him taking her shirt over her head. She wasted no time by helping him out of his west and shirt too. They were eager to feel their bare skin touch each other.

Kakashi kissed down her neck, leaving love marks where they passed. His hands were fumbling with her pants zipper. She reached to his croche and got a hold of his half erection. He gasped in surprise.

"You seem to be even hungrier than me. You are already becoming hard."

He finally opened her zipper and pushed down her pants leaving her only with her underwear. She was trying to take off his too, but after her comment, he decided to tease her first. He took hold of her arms, pinning them above her head. With one of his hands he held her arms in place and the other he squeezed one of her breasts, feeling her hard nipple through her bra under his palm. While kissing her, his hand traveled further down in between her legs. Her underpants were still dry but not for long. He rubbed his fingers against her clit through the fabric and soon it became wet.

"Let me show you how hungry I am."

He let her arms go and pulled down her underpants while kneeling down in front of her. He gripped her thighs separating them a bit so he had better access to her. He moved so fast that Manami had trouble staying steady. And then he started right away to lick her. A shiver of pleasure rushed over her body and her hands got lost in his hair.

When the moans began to leave her mouth, Kakashi stopped. He loved to tease her, but his pants were getting really tight and he wanted her. She almost whined when he stopped, but then she saw how he took off the rest of his clothes and the desire in his eyes. He couldn't wait anymore and that was fine for her, because she needed to feel him inside of her.

They didn't even bother to change their location. Kakashi held Manami against the wall and lifted her up as she intertwined her legs around his waist. He positioned himself against her entrance and didn't waste more time, sliding into her. He began to move slowly but soon increased his speed eager to reach the sweet release of their orgasm. He felt that his release was close so he tried to focus on his breathing to wait for Manamy to reach her peak first. But he didn't have to wait long because he could see on her face that she was in a bliss and a few thrusts later he too came. He didn't let go of her right away, he kissed her softly while still holding her. Only then did he let her down but didn't stop kissing her. In the end, he parted with her to ask:

"And now, are you hungry?"

"I could eat something, but you know I always want to have dessert."

She smiled at him with that wicked smile he had so missed.


	34. Beginning of the end

Manami was laying on Kakashi's bare chest while he was holding her. They were both lost in their own thoughts, their minds too busy to fall asleep.

Kakashi had just told her what had happened during her absence. He had refused to tell her during dinner and after it, they had given themselves into pleasure once again, but when they were laying there on the mattress, Manami had asked him again. She could see that something had happened that was bothering him and she wouldn't rest until he talked about it. She had told him:

_"If we are going to live together then your problems are my problems. So tell me what's troubling you."_

Then he finally began to talk.

_'The fourth World Shinobi War is coming.'_

Kakashi knew what war was like. He had participated in the last one, but she didn't. She had been through some hard missions with big fights, where she had killed many people, but she could not quite imagine what it would be like hundreds or thousands of shinobis confront each other, to see comrades and friends being wounded or killed right next to her and not be able to do something about it because her own life was at risk too.

Would they both be lucky enough to survive this? She didn't want to survive if he didn't. The month she had lived thinking he had died was the hardest she had. The only thing that made her try to come back was because she had to know what had happened to her parents and her brother or else she had stayed in the other world.

Kakashi's thought revolved around the same thing, and without even noticing he held her tighter to him. She didn't look up, only moved slightly her head so her ear was pressed to his chest and she could hear his heartbeat. It was a calming sound. Only to think that she had been present when it stopped beating... She hoped it wouldn't stop so soon again. And with that thought, she fell asleep and he, hearing her calm and steady respiration, soon drifted into sleep too.

* * *

The next weeks were spent helping rebuild Konoha and war preparations. Their house stayed like it was with only the essentials, after the war they had time to decorate. Soon all Konoha shinobis who would participate in the war moved to the base with all shinobi forces. Manami and Kakashi didn't have the possibility to stay the nights together since the shelters were shared with others, so every moment they had free, they would spend it with each other.

Kakashi had recently participated in a reunion where the strategy had been explained.

"We have received intel about the enemy forces from the eight tails. We will move out soon. Our forces have been divided into five companies and some task forces. I'm going to be the captain of the third company."

"That's not surprising. You are skilled, know how to command, and almost have become the new Hokage."

Something was bothering him though and it wasn't about him being a captain.

"Do you know where I will be?"

She had made the right question.

"You are in the ambush unit with Kankuro as captain."

When Kakashi had asked Tsunade where Manami would be he became angry. She was not just in another unit than his, she was also in the ambush unit that was to go ahead and would probably be the first to make contact with the enemy, and therefore the risk of something happening to her was bigger. But Tsunade only said:

_"Kakashi we are at war, we have to divide our forces according to their abilities and not of the relationships. Manami has unique capabilities for the ambush unit. Her geyser jutsu covers a large area and can inflict great damage in an enemy's unit and if needed she can cover her unit from view."_

Kakashi knew she was right but still, he didn't like it.

Manami hugged him.

"It's going to be alright, we must win this war, right? So we will beat them and come out victorious."

She wasn't pleased too, to be separated from him, but on the other hand, if she was about to fight next to him, possibly they couldn't focus on the fight on hand because they would always look at the other to see if they were alright.

She was scared. If she wasn't then it would be imprudent, but she had to trust her abilities and in those of her companions. She tried not to think too much about what was about to happen.

"Come let us go farther away."

Kakashi took her hand and they walked farther away from the camp to have more privacy. The war could start at any moment and this could be the last night they had to be together.

In the dense forest Kakashi pushed Manami against a tree and began to kiss her, the desire augmented with the anguish of the war. He wanted to feel her, engrave her facial expressions when she lost herself in the pleasure he was giving her.

They took their time and when they came back to camp, the sun was almost rising.

* * *

Still in the morning of that day came the order to move out. The ambush unit was to move asap. Manami's nerves were on edge and she felt sick to her stomach. She felt like that for some days now, but she couldn't even think of getting sick right now. She had to move out and didn't even have the time to search for Kakashi to say her last goodbye... Last night must have been enough.

Her unit was small but seemed to be composed of capable shinobis. Sai drew them some birds to fly on them so they moved rather quickly and without tiring out. Then they arrived in the enemy's territory and began to set up traps and ditches to hinder their opponent's progress so they would have difficulty to advance.

Some time in, the sensor shinobi sensed someone approaching, it was a shinobi from Aburame Clan, but something was off, it was a trap. He was being controlled by Sasori. Deidara was with him and some other guy. The fight had begun earlier than expected and the two ambush units confronted each other.

They managed to lift the Edo Tensei on Sasori and on Sai's Brother. Deidara was trapped inside one of Kankuro's puppets, so they resumed their work. Manami was with Sai and other two shinobis in the sky looking for the enemy. When they sighted them, they threw bomb tags and gave the signal to the third company. And then they were hit by an ice attack and the ink birds disappeared making them drop to the ground.

Before they could recover, the enemy was already making their attack, but Kakashi's company just reached them on time to defend them. Kakashi put himself in front of Manami.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, thank you."

"Are you sure? You look pale."

"I'm just queasy, don't worry."

She had been like that for some days now. She shouldn't even be here if she was sick. Or could it be that she was... No. Manami was careful to stay protected, she would never let pass the time to renew her protection. He couldn't distract himself right now, his opponent was Zabuza, Haku, and others strong shinobis with unique capabilities and Kekkei Genkai.

* * *

The fight was hard but they were managing it. When Zabuza sliced his sword through Kakashi's abdomen, Manami's heart almost dropped. She knew it would be difficult to fight next to him so she distanced herself from him. During the fight, she was hit on the arm and was bleeding but she ignored the pain and continued. Later Kakashi came up to her.

"Manami you hurt?"

"That's just a scratch. I can fight."

To prove her point she deflected an enemy's attack.

"Ok, but the fight is going well, we have already sealed four of them and I want you to help Sakura bring the injured to the medical camp."

He wanted to take her out of danger. She was sick and now wounded. It seemed to be a deep cut, the blood had already stained all her sleeve.

Manami knew he wanted to protect her. She wanted to protest, but he was the captain and she didn't want to question him in front of others. So she helped the wounded to move and they headed to the nearest medical camp.

Her wound wasn't life-threatening so only a nurse was cleaning it and putting on a bandage to stop the bleeding. Manami used the time to meditate and gather her chakra with the intent to join the fight again.

She was in tune with her surroundings, expanding her conscience over kilometers, feeling every living being, even the smallest animal and plant. She was no sensory shinobi, but she could feel the chakra contained in the humans, animals, and even plants, and she could distinguish it. She wanted to overwatch the fight. That's when she felt it. There were hundreds of things with a strange chakra. But that chakra was a mixture of a human and plans chakra. That could only mean it was a platoon from white zetsus. No, it was two platoons and they were moving to Kakashi's position. One of the units moved to one side of Kakashi's unit, and the other seemed to go around. That would cause chaos to break out. She had to do something about it.

If she would attack the bigger platoon it would be complete suicide, but maybe she could manage the smaller one? That would help Kakashi's company to deal faster with their enemy and go help the first company that was in trouble. The alliance force had to win at all costs. She would put her life at risk to see it through, and everyone out there was doing the same.

But she would only reach them in time if she was able to use her Mangekyou Sharingan to teleport her there. She had thought about it and if she could teleport herself into another world, then that should be no problem.

The nurse was done, so she didn't waste time. As soon as she was alone she activated her Mangekyou and focused on the place she wanted to go. It worked. She was now a bit in front of the smaller Zetsu unit.

_'Ok, best I prepare myself for the fight.'_


	35. Surviving comes at a price

The unit of white Zetsus was moving quickly so she had to hurry. Her left eye was hurting from using her Mangekyo Sharingan but it didn't bleed, that was good. She would perform her geyser jutsu and it would cover a larger area than she had done till now. Good thing that there was much groundwater, so she didn't have to use much of her chakra to create more. The warmth to heat up the water cost her a lot more, however. With the preparations for her jutsu done, She took out the rest of her bomb tags and attached them to her kunais.

Now she waited... She was shaking in anticipation so she focused on steady breathing. She needed to clear her mind or else she wouldn't come out of this alive. And then she saw them. They were many, she didn't dare to think about the numbers or else fear would take over her. She had made a decision and now she had to see it through. She waited a bit longer so the Zetsus were all over her prepared field and only then she released her geyser.

It was a success. Many of the white plantlike humanoids were killed with the boiling water. Now she fired her kunai bombs and the numbers left were much smaller. Another advantage was that they had slowed down and were scattered. They hadn't reached her yet so she could still use a fire dragon to attack some more.

Now Manami reached for her katana and embraced herself for the clash. With her Sharingan activated she evaded the attacks and sliced every single white being that dared to come close to her. When she was about to be overrun by the enemy she called the wind. She heated a part of the wind and added some water and commanded it to swirl up around her. The other portion she took out the warmth and the humidity and commanded it to move down around her. So she created a small tornado with her in the center where she was protected by its furry.

The whit Zetsus that were outside from the eye, were set flying around by the storm and the ones inside were cut down by her sword. Now she had some time to breathe and gather new straight. Soon she would need to use her final jutsu and then she needed to end all of them or else afterward she would be too weak to even fight off a single one of them.

* * *

Sai had just sealed another of the seven ninja swordsmen when the enemy's reinforcement came. It was a squat of white Zetsus. Kakashi became worried. His unit was getting tired and now with more enemies, this would be hard. But then Naruto appeared, engulfed in yellow light and his strength was overwhelming. He pushed back the white Zetsus giving new hope to everyone.

But then in the distance, Kakashi saw a small tornado. Before he had seen some steam rise but didn't give much thought about it. But now he is worried. Manami had just a couple of weeks ago managed to do such a tornado. Was she the one responsible for that? He had told her to go with Sakura, would she go against his orders? As long as she didn't need to use her final jutsu she would be ok, thought Kakashi. He had confidence in her abilities and discernment.

Guy came up to him and asked:

"Everything alright?"

"Yea, I was just thinking about something."

They continued their fight and when the last of their enemy was taking care of, Kakashi and Guy turned to Naruto.

"What are you doing here, weren't you supposed to be in a top secret mission?"

Naruto explained the essential to them because there was no time to waste and then they headed out. As they did so, they saw the sky blackening on the side where Kakashi had suspected Manami to be. He knew that he was needed on the battlefield but he couldn't help himself. He made a detour to see if it was really Manami who was fighting.

* * *

Manami was getting to her limit. She had to use her final jutsu. With almost the last of her chakra reserve, she jumped into the air and took down her barrier to the surrounding, siphoning the chakra that was around her. Her hair began to flutter, eyes became almost completely black and a dark aura surrounded her as she even sucked the chakra of the light.

The energy rush she felt was almost overwhelming but it was a welcomed feeling. With new strength and more speed, she began to fight off the seemingly never ending flow of enemies. But she needed more chakra. She felt already her body beginning to protest against the foreign chakra, but she ignored it and opened up, even more, her barriers to the surrounding, making the sky turn black because the sunlight never hits the ground, the energy of it going directly into Manami like she was a black hole.

She screamed out in pain as her skin began to rupture, her body not being able to contain such a quantity of natural chakra. She had to see this through now. It wouldn't matter if she passed out afterward, she had felt Becas presence nearby, she would carry her to the medical camp.

Finally the last of the Zetsus were killed and she fell all bloody to the ground, not being able to dampen her fall because she was already out.

* * *

Kakashi and Guy were speechless when they saw the number of white bodies that covered the ground. The former one became even more worried because he couldn't find her, he was almost sure that Manami was responsible for this massacre. And then he found her in the middle of all the bodies. His heart almost stopped, fearing the worst. She was laying on the ground, not moving and her blood was coming out of her wounds. Only after come nearer he saw that Becas was next to her. A light could be seen between them and after it, Becas fell to the ground, her eyes stayed open. She was dead...

* * *

Manami was awakened by Becas.

"Hey, you. I knew you would follow me although I told you not to."

She smiled at her. Some things never changed. But then Manami noticed where she was. She was nowhere, only she and Becas existed.

"What's happening Becas?"

"I'm saying goodbye to you Nami."

"What do you mean?"

"I have transferred my life force to you so your body can heal himself. I hope it is enough for you to hold on until help comes."

Manami was shocked. She didn't want this. She kneeled down and held Becas.

"No, why didn't you just bring me to the medical camp in your beast form? I would have survived it, it isn't that far."

"You would probably survive yes, but not your child."

"... What are you talking about?"

"You're pregnant Nami. I can feel a different chakra signature growing inside of you. It's still small, but it's there."

"How can it be possible? I only needed to renew the protection in some months. I don't understand. I don't want to lose you Becas."

It was too much for Manami to process. All she could think now was that Becas had sacrificed herself and she would die. Tears began to roll down her cheeks.

"It's ok, you have given me a good life. Thanks to you I gained consciousness and I could see two different worlds. How many cats can say that? And besides that, I'm getting old and sick. I can feel it in my bones. I wouldn't be able to run around for much longer so I prefer to die now and rescue your child. Don't cry for me Nami, only remember me."

"I will never forget you Becas, that's sure as it is that I will cry for you, I already am. I wished you would stay with me a while longer. I love you so much. you're so much more than just a pet to me."

"I know. I love you too Nami."

Manami closed her eyes and embraced Becas harder. Then her vision ended.

When she woke up, Becas's lifeless body was in front of her. Her body was hurting but she still stretched her hands to Becas and hugged her. Her eyes were open, the pupils dilated and her body limp. This wasn't Becas anymore, only a lifeless amount of flesh, but still, Manami held it to her chest, wallow in sorrow.

Kakashi had reached her and when he saw her move, relief washed over him, although he was sad about Becas too. She had grown on him during the time that Manami was gone.

"Hey love, can you move, come here."

He helped her sit up and hugged her, Manami refused to let go of Becas's body. Kakashi tried to comfort her, but then she took some deep breaths to compose herself. It didn't work very well because she began to cough.

She had to get herself together. Kakashi was needed in the battle and if she continued like that he wouldn't let go of her, so she tried to control her emotions.

"What happened?" He asked.

"Becas gave her life to heal me enough so I could survive until help would come."

She wouldn't say that she was pregnant because she could still suffer an abortion and not to mention that if Kakashi would know that, he probably wouldn't leave her site. Whatever would happen to her baby was not in their hands, so there was no reason for her to distract Kakashi from what he had to do.

"You need to go, Kakashi. You and Guy make a difference on the battlefield. If I rest a bit I can go to the medical camp by myself afterward."

"That won't be necessary. I have already sent Pakun to get help. The rest of the pack will stay here and guard you. I only wanted to be sure you would be ok."

She nodded.

"Thank you, now go. Help win this war and then come back to me."

He hated to leave her like this, but she was right. They needed to go. He quickly pulled down his mask and kissed her before moving out with Guy.

"I knew Manami was strong but to take out so many Zetsus all by herself is formidable."

Kakashi said nothing to his friend because he was surprised too. That final jutsu of hers was really powerful in a horrible kind of way and it came with a cost.

Manami saw the two shinobis leave. Although her wounds weren't bleeding, she was still exhausted. Every fiber of her body was hurting, even breathing did. She pondered bury Becas's body there, but she didn't want to leave her in the midst of the white bodies, so she would hold to her until she would find a good location.

She let herself fall to the ground. Lying there, she waited for her rescue. Kakashi's dogs would watch over her. So, she was pregnant. That thought scared her. She had no motherly instincts in her, how could she raise a child. That is if it would survive. She had put a lot of pressure on her body. But in the end, she hoped that her baby would survive, or else Becas sacrifice would be for nothing. With Kakashi, she would manage to be a mother. But what if he wouldn't come back to her? No, she couldn't think like that. He is strong and intelligent. He will survive, he will come back to me.

Manami ended up falling asleep with her exhaustion. When she wakes up again she was almost at the medical camp. Sakura had been waiting for her. When she heard about Manami-San she made sure that she would be the one to heal her. She owed it to sensei Kakashi to be sure his girlfriend would be okay. So when Manami was brought in, everything was prepared for her. Sakura began to work. Most of her wounds were partially healed, but her internal organs were still damaged. When she was healing her abdomen, something felt strange. Sakura could feel a different chakra. She had never felt this before, but she had a clue what this could mean.

Manami saw her struggling. Could there be something wrong with her baby? Well, at this point it could be difficult to be sure. Since her belly hasn't grown yet and her morning sickness had only begun some days ago, she was still at the beginning of her pregnancy and that would mean that the fetus wasn't completely developed. Probably only later could be sure that her fight didn't cause any harm to her baby.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, Manami-San, on the contrary. I think you're pregnant."

'So it was true...'

"I wasn't sure about it, I mean, it has been only seven months since I got the shot to stop the menstruation."

"Are you sure about that? It would be impossible for you to get pregnant because it works on the woman chakra stream. To cancel out the effect your chakra needed to stop, like doing a reboot."

Manami's eyes widened in understanding. When she was teleported to the other world, that must have stopped her chakra stream enough to reinitiate her menstrual cycle at some point. When she came back and, well, had sex with Kakashi, she became pregnant. Now that made sense.

"That doesn't matter now, important is that everything is alright."

"I can't say that for sure. We needed to take tests, maybe an ultrasound. I'm sorry but that isn't my expertise."

"It's alright Sakura. Just don't tell anyone about it now. No one knows yet, not even Kakashi."

"Oh, I see. Don't worry I won't spoil your surprise. Now you need to rest or else you could really lose your baby. Your inner organs have suffered much damage."

Manami did as she was told and hoped that everything would turn out okay. She had asked for a sheet to wrap up Becas's body. She would take her back to Konoha and bury her there.


	36. Lonely Kunoichi no more

The war was over, the enemy vanquished and the infinite Tsukuyomi lifted. The wounded were still brought into the medical camp, the ones that were out of danger were sent home, walking if they could or helped by comrades. The ones that needed more medical care were transferred to the nearest hospital. Manami was one of them. Her life wasn't at stake, but that of her child was.

She had suffered many injuries and adding to that came the infinite Tsukuyomi that drained her chakra. She began to bleed and although it wasn't necessary a miscarriage, it definitely wasn't a good sign. She needed to rest and see a doctor as soon as possible. Pakkun had stayed by her site but now she had told him to go to Kakashi and tell him where she would be.

Kakashi was in bad conditions as well. His chakra would need a while to regenerate but still, after knowing that Naruto and Sasuke would survive he was on his way to find Manami until Pakkun found him first. He was carrying something wrapped up in a sheet in his mouth. After putting it down he spoke.

"Hi, boss. Manami sent me to tell you that she's being transferred. She said that you don't have to worry about her, that she isn't in danger but she needs to rest and that's why she can't come back right away. She wants you to bury Becas in your yard before her body begins to decompose. And may I add that it has already begun to smell so you better hurry."

Kakashi sight. It wasn't a good sign that Manami was transferred to the hospital and he would prefer to go see her right away, but he owed Becas much and the least he could do was to treat her remains with respect. And then was also the fact that Manami would be pissed with him if he didn't do what she asked for. He didn't want that because, to be honest, he was a bit scared of her wrath. After seeing what she did to those white Zetsus on the battlefield and now that he had lost his Sharingan, she was probably stronger than him. He needed to go back to training once everything was normal.

Later, when he finished putting Becas to rest, an Anbu member came to him.

"Kakashi Hatake? Lady fifth wants to see you. Please report to her office when you can."

As he made his way to the Hokage's office he saw still many shinobis arrive home. Most of them were helping wounded comrades to walk or transporting their litter. The war was something gruesome and he hoped to never have to go through another again...

* * *

Manami was in a bed on the hospital's corridor because the rooms were taken by patients that needed more care than her. She tried to shut the commotion around her out. So many wounded were still brought in.

She had already been seen by a gynecologist and he told her that with absolute bed rest everything should be okay with her baby. That was a relief for her. She was about 6 weeks pregnant, so still plenty of time to prepare herself.

* * *

The next day Kakashi was on his way to see Manami. He couldn't wait any longer without knowing about her wellbeing. Many things were running through his mind. One of them was his mother's engagement ring that he carried with him. He wasn't sure if Manami would accept his proposal, after all, they weren't that long together but they had been through so much and he didn't have any doubt that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. Good thing that his father had put the ring in the family's crypt that was located outside the village, but he always told him when he had found a girl to share his life with, then he should give her the ring. His mother would be happy about that.

Then there was the matter that he might be the next Hokage after all. That was why Tsunade had called him the day before. She was tired and too old to handle the stress of being Hokage. Well, that wasn't her words, of course, she would never admit that she was old, but it could be resumed to that. She would suggest him for the sixth Hokage to the council.

Occupied with his thoughts, Kakashi didn't even notice how time passed and now he was already standing in front of the hospital where Manami should be. He asked at the desk about her but they couldn't say where she was. The hospital was in a mess with all the injured shinobis, so he began searching for her everywhere. It took some time but then he found her. She seemed to be sleeping, at least she had her eyes closed but when he came next to her she opened her eyes.

"Kakashi you're here. How are you, have you been injured?"

He chuckled and kissed her forehead through his mask.

"You are here laying in bed and are worried about me? I'm fine. So what is wrong, why are you still here?"

She gave him a wicked smile and he relaxed. If she was smiling like that it meant that she was alright. But now curiosity took over him.

"I'm here because of you actually..."

He raised an eyebrow question.

"Come, sit here."

He sat with one leg on her bed facing her. She held his hands and looked him in the eyes. Now she was the one who looked questioning.

"What happened to your eye, your Sharingan?"

He reached to his face.

"That is a long story, I tell you afterward. First I want to know what's wrong with you."

"Well, in about eight months, if everything goes well, and the doctor said it would be all good if I rest, then you're going to be a father."

His eyes went big in surprise.

"Are you saying that... Are you pregnant?"

"Yes. Can you believe that? We are going to be parents."

He kissed her, his happiness taking the better off of him, forgetting they were in the hallway of a busy hospital. He then remembered the ring in his pocket. He didn't have planned to ask her right away, but if he would wait maybe she would think he only proposed because she was carrying his child so he decided he wouldn't wait.

"Manami I intended to ask you this in another way, especially in some other place, but I don't want to wait any longer. With you by my side, I thought that I was already the happiest that I could be but now you gave me just another reason to be even happier."

With one hand holding hers, the other reaching in his pocket, he went down on one knee and held the ring out to her.

"Will you marry me and let me make you as happy as I am?"

The other people in the hallway that weren't too busy were now looking at the scene, waiting for Manami's answer. But the two of them were unaware of their audience. For them, only the two existed at that moment.

"Oh Kakashi, of course, I will, you already make me happy as I never thought I would be."

He put the ring on her finger and kissed her again. The people around began to cheer, eager to forget even for just a while the suffering they went through.

Manami felt Kakashi smile into the kiss. He touched his forehead to hers and said:

"Looks like we are giving a show here."

"No, you were the one that couldn't wait, so the show is yours."

He smiled once more before putting his mask in place again and turning to the people.

"Thank you, everyone." Embarrassed he scratched his neck and soon everybody was once again focused on their problems.

"Now will you tell me what has happened in the war?"

"It's a long story."

"I have to stay in bed and I am bored like hell. So you take the time you need to put me up to date."

*** Some months later ***

Manami was standing in front of the mirror looking at her bump. Now, with almost five-month pregnant it couldn't be hidden anymore, but she wasn't trying to. She was happier than she would dare to dream.

Her mother entered her room. Her eyes instantaneously filled up with happy tears. Manami's sister in law and Genma were right behind her. He called out:

"Is the bride finally dressed and covered up? The only man to see her naked today should be the groom after all."

One of her bridesmaids (Anko) was sitting on the bed, already tipsy, and just couldn't shut herself up.

"It's not like you haven't seen her naked before, right?"

If looks could kill, Anko would be lying dead on the ground right now, not only because of Manami's but also Kurenai's (the other bridesmaid) dead stare.

Manami's sister in law looked like a child that someone had given candy. She just loved gossip. Manami had to make a note that Anko and she shouldn't be in the same room anymore...

"Interesting, and does Kakashi know about that?"

"Yes, that happened a long time ago."

"Let me just say you look beautiful and I'm sure Kakashi will love your dress." Genma got close to her to give a kiss on her cheek and whispered: "And he will even love more to take it off later."

Blushing, Manami punched him on the arm.

"Idiot."

"Can I tell everyone they should take their seats?"

"Yes, we won't take long."

Her mother hugged her tight.

"I'm so happy for you. I can't believe my baby girl is already getting married."

"Thank you, mom."

Everyone left the room afterward to take their place. The ceremony was held in their backyard. Only Manami's parents and her brother's family were there as some close friends. Kakashi's best men were Guy and Yamato. Team seven was there too (only Sazuke was not). Iruka was there too because he was Manami's boss and colleague. Ino was representing her dead Sensei and Shikamaru was babysitting Mirai. Of course, Choji needed to come too or else InoShikaCho wasn't complete. Then Manami wanted to play matchmaker for Naruto and invited Hinata. For her to not become suspicious they invited her team as well. And then there was of course Raido and to not feel left out Ebisu as well. Oh, and of course Tsunade. She would preside over the ceremony.

Manami stepped out of the house, her father waiting for her to guide her to Kakashi. As the music began, everyone got up and Kakashi turned around to look at her. He was so nervous that he couldn't act cool as he always did. She looked just beautiful.

Manami was nervous as well and almost forgot to walk, but her father was there and gave her a soft push. Her eyes didn't leave Kakashi's and so she stepped to him, in the direction of her happiness and her future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading. This is the end of the story, I don't intend to continue it. This was my first fanfiction that I wrote, hope you had at least as much fun reading it as I did while writing. I had actually written this a while ago, but have decided to upload it here on AO3. I had planned to go through it and correct some errors I would find, but I don't have really much time. Between a full-time job, being a housewife, and other two fictions ongoing, I had to cut something short. So I posted it as it was.


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